


Midnight Mistakes

by Fall_Leaves_Fics



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Mates, Modern Era, True Mates, Werewolf Mates, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:01:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 37,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23997178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fall_Leaves_Fics/pseuds/Fall_Leaves_Fics
Summary: A wolf pack buried deep in the rural forests outside of Seoul, Korea. Every pack lives in harmony, away from others and definitely away from humans.Hunting, mating, surviving, and living are top priority for every wolf in every pack.And most importantly: don't touch the humans
Relationships: Boo Seungkwan/Chwe Hansol | Vernon, Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Yoon Jeonghan, Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 22
Kudos: 130





	1. Fated Mates

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThatFangurlTho](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatFangurlTho/gifts).



The ecosystem of the forest is always at a delicate balance. The small prey play their part, and a large predators play theirs. The trees provide shelter and shade, the river provides water, everything had their place. There exists a balance between nature and those who inhabit it. The many populations that lived in the forest had their respective roles, and every society lived in harmony as to not disrespect the balance.  
So what happens when two populations are at war?  
It began as an idea, several generations ago, one pack leader decided to make his pack self sufficient. All trades to other packs were severed, and the prime focus was his own power, rather than the traditional communal approach. The breaking of the trades caused distrust and pride to fill the other packs. One pack in particular didn’t appreciate the gesture in the slightest, and began intentionally out casting the members of the single pack, thus beginning the rivalry between the pack of Seventeen and pack NCT.  
Now, several generations later, there is finally a sign of peace. The Seventeen pack had grown in its production, and the NCT pack now embraced the title of “Most Populated” with open arms. The Seventeen pack’s leader had recently passed, and his son, upon accepting the pack leader title, made it his first mission to repair social ties with the surrounding packs. Early meetings showed that the rival pack leaders had similar goals, as neither could remember exactly why tensions had been so bad to begin with. They quickly came to a consensus, and the path to peace had officially begun.  
Months later, NCT pack had sent a peace envoy to Seventeen pack with the peace treaty. It had already been signed by their pack leader, Taeyong, and their council members. As terms of the peace treaty stated a peace envoy would be given as both tribute and apology to Seventeen tribe, and they selected only the best for their new allies.  
Yoon Jeonghan, a council assistant and clerk responsible for helping Clan Leader take care of pack matters. Leaving home was hard, sure, but being the first outsider let into the self sufficient clan’s walls in decades? That was too big of a milestone to pass up.  
When he entered the clan, he was awestruck by the amount of things that were there. The buildings had stronger foundations compared to his old home, and the technology was mesmerizing. Not to say his pack lived like the olden days, but social standing was much more important back home than it seemed to be here.  
Jeonghan stared wide eyed at the water mill he passed, tripping over rocks in the dirt path before remembering to keep his look professional. He looked around at all the people lining along the streets who were, ironically, looking at him. It was strange; about ninety percent of the hair colors here were brown or black, while at his pack it was more like fifty or sixty percent. As far as he could tell, he was the only one with blond hair, and probably the only wolf with a blond coat.  
The man he was following led him down the central road of the pack to the council building; a much larger building than the other homes, but not as grandiose as the council building back home. Jeonghan smiled, he preferred the simplicity. The man opened the door and led him directly into the main room where the council had already gathered. The group stood idle and, when Jeonghan walked in, gave him strange looks; not fully ready to expose themselves and their pack’s inner workings to a newcomer. The thought hurt slightly, but he knew their opinion would change by the end of the meeting.  
The man who had led him there walked to the other council members and began whispering something about the pack leader. Still unmoving from his spot, Jeonghan looked at all the decor around the room, admiring the beautiful tapestries to the artifacts. He approached a tapestry along the wall and stared thoughtfully at it, noticing every strand of thread that was woven together so beautifully.  
He felt someone walk up beside him. Jeonghan looked over his shoulder at him, half in fear they would ask him to leave or express their distrust directly to his face, but surprise was shown on his face when seeing a silver haired man smiling at him, his eyes small and angled.  
“You’re the new member of the pack, right? The peacemaker?”  
Jeonghan smiled, at least he was friendly. “Technically, I am. Yoon Jeonghan.” He offered his forearm to the silver haired man, and, thankfully, he clasped it with his own in traditional greeting.  
“Kwon Soonyoung.” They released each other, and Soonyoung smiled at him, his eyes almost disappearing. “I hope you’ll like it here. If not, just know I like having you here. Finally, someone else without black hair.”  
Soonyoung ruffled his silver hair self consciously fixing his bangs slightly at the comment.  
“Walking into your pack, I thought everyone here had dark hair. But now I see I’m not alone.” Jeonghan scratched the back of his head, his nerves mixing with his excitement. “I know not everyone in this pack likes me, so I’m a bit nervous about adjusting here..”  
A hand clapped against his shoulder. Jeonghan jumped and looked up to see a man slightly taller than himself, smiling widely. “Don’t worry, you’re not nearly as bad as all the horror stories say-.”  
Soonyoung elbowed him in the ribs before he could finish his comment, narrowing his eyes at the taller man. “Seokmin, shove it. You’ll offend him.”  
Jeonghan couldn’t help but laugh at the two of them, his giggles escaping his lips before he could stop them. “Don’t worry, back home, we had several horror stories about your pack too.”  
The one called Seokmin was about to say something else, but a deep, hollow bell rang at the front of the hall, and everyone made their way to the long table at the center of the room. Soonyoung pulled Jeonghan over to the bell, and gestured for him to sit at the left of the ornate chair placed at the head of the table. Jeonghan could tell just from the carving of the wood that this would be the chair the clan leader would sit at when he walked in. Thinking about how they were going to be the ones talking the most, it made sense for him to sit closer to the leader. He sat down in his own chair and made himself comfortable before looking around the table at what everyone else was doing; copying their actions as to not offend the leader. Soonyoung sat to Jeonghan’s left, and Seokmin plopped himself to Soonyoung left.  
The hall door creaked open. Jeonghan turned his head to face the sound, and the figure came into view, then a face, and for reasons Jeonghan couldn’t explain, his heart began to swell so much that it began to ache.  
The pack leader had pitch black hair, darker than the rest of the people; contrasting against his pale skin. His face was defined, his jawline strong, and he carried a confidence in his step Jeonghan hadn’t witnessed in anyone before. Jeonghan clutched a hand to his chest, but Soonyoung nudged him with his elbow, so he dropped it back onto the table. The emotions in his chest were overwhelming, but in the most positive way. There was a magnetism that pulled Jeonghan closer to the clan leader, a magnetism he’d only heard about in folk tales he heard as a pup. This couldn’t be... No, this had to be.  
He could feel the imprint when he first laid eyes on the pack leader, but to this gravity? It had to be his mate, there was no question about it. Jeonghan had just found his mate.  
The thought made him giddy, and he smiled softly to himself as the clan leader sat down in the ornate chair to his right. His handsome face turned to his and smiled professionally at him, the act turning Jeonghan’s knees to jelly and making his heart flutter.  
“You must be our new member.” His voice was deeper than his own, but it had a strong resonance that carried his confidence. The sound of it made Jeonghan’s heartbeat quicken, and he clenched his fist in his lap to avoid any outburst. “Welcome to the pack, and to the council. I’m the leader, Choi Seungcheol.”  
Jeonghan nodded and smiled, his movements a bit jerky due to his excitement, but he quickly regained some measure of self control. The last thing he wanted was to get off on the wrong foot with his literal soulmate. He noticed Seungcheol didn’t offer his arm in greeting,  
‘Probably because he’s pack leader, duh, stop getting ahead of yourself.’ Jeonghan interrupted his thoughts to politely bow his head slightly instead. “Yoon Jeonghan. Thank you for accepting my presence.”  
The pack leader, Seungcheol— knowing his name made Jeonghan’s wolf leap for joy— smiled at him. “This is your pack now, you’re always welcome.”  
Jeonghan nodded, trying to keep his face downturned enough toward the table that his blush wouldn’t be so visible while also trying not to seem disrespectful. Conversation of pack topics began immediately, starting with the peace treaty. Jeonghan was able to control himself as he got into his rhythm of diplomacy.  
Somewhere in the conversation, he noticed the other council members had stopped looking at him in distaste, rather looking almost impressed as he recapped the reasons behind every component of the peace treaty. They even looked happily surprised when Jeonghan said his pack leader specifically left trade excluded as a requirement for the treaty, as to keep their “Self Productive” title. By the end of the meeting, it seemed like the council was on his side. However, Jeonghan couldn’t have cared less. The pressure in his chest got worse as every minute passed. The fact that he sat right next to Seungcheol was not helping. If he hadn’t been able to get back into his council habits, Jeonghan knew he would’ve made a fool of himself for sure.  
In no time at all, the treaty was signed by Seungcheol and the council. A clerk took it to be kept in a safe location. The council members slowly stood from their chairs, and proceeded to head to the hall door while simultaneously chatting about food, and who wanted to take a late night run that night. Soonyoung was the last to stand, and he looked at Jeonghan with curiosity, as he still hadn’t stood.  
“You coming?”  
Jeonghan opened his mouth to answer, but the sound of Seuncheol’s chair scraping against the floor as he stood drew their attention. His eyes rested on Jeonghan, causing his breath to catch in his throat and heart to skip a beat, before looking at Soonyoung.  
“I have to talk with him about something. You go on ahead, Soonyoung.”  
The silver haired wolf looked between the two of them before nodding and exiting the room, looking over his shoulder at them before he joined the others. Leaving his pack leader, and newest member by themselves.  
Jeonghan bit his lip before standing, knowing what the confrontation would be about. Surely, if the feeling was this strong for him, Seungcheol would have to feel something as well. He fixed his hair nervously as he made eye contact with Seungcheol, unsure of how this conversation would go.  
Seungcheol stood in front of him scratched the back of his neck. He looked nervous, and Jeonghan’s heart soared again. He could feel it, it was obvious he could feel that Jeonghan was his mate. The pack leader looked at him, his nervousness now on full display. His mouth opened slightly as if he was going to say something, but quickly closed after a few seconds.  
Jeonghan smiled softly at him. “You can say it bluntly, Seungcheol. I don’t want there to be any awkwardness between us.”  
Seungcheol tilted his head slightly, voice unsteady as he spoke. “That’s what I’m worried about.” He sighed, dropping his hands to his side in defeat and looking at Jeonghan seriously. “Did you... Did you imprint on me?”  
Jeonghan blushed and coughed in his embarrassment, a hand raising and covering his cheek. “I know I said ask bluntly, but I didn’t think you would actually do it. If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t mean to?”  
Seungcheol sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. “Listen, Jeonghan, I appreciate it, but I can’t take a mate right now. I hope you can understand.” The pain of rejection stabbed through Jeonghan’s chest, and he physically flinched as the words fell on his ears.  
Jeonghan didn’t understand. He blinked at Seungcheol in shock, mouth agape. “Excuse me? You can’t be so stupid to not know what this means. You feel it. You feel it too, I know you do.” He didn’t miss the way Seuncheol’s face contorted in pain.  
Seungcheol shook his head, crossing his arms across his chest and looking at Jeonghan seriously. “I don’t feel anything, I’m sorry.” The words drilled themselves through Jeonghan’s heart, and the look Seungcheol have him, the one filled with pity and something one can only describe as heartbreak, only added more force to the pain in his chest.  
“The pain usually only lasts a few days, you’ll be fine after that. It was nice meeting you. Welcome to our pack.” He offered Jeonghan one last smile before turning away, leaving him in the empty council room.  
The second the sound of the door thudding shut echoed in the wide room, Jeonghan’s knees gave out from under him, causing him to kneel on the carpet, clutching his chest as the pain overwhelmed him.  
He gasped for air, but the knife twisted deeper, and he sputtered helplessly, unable to breathe due to the pain. He heard someone rush in, a voice call his name, but the arms that grabbed him weren’t the ones he wanted, and the pain continued to increase to the point where the only thing that allowed his refuge was darkness.  
His sleep was frightful and plagued by nightmares. Images of Seungcheol’s disappointed face, scenes of him running but unable to catch his breath, and the constant fear of the black crow of death… When he finally awoke, the weight on his chest had amplified from when he last remembered, and he gasped in pain, his hands flying to his chest and digging into the skin. Air was flowing through his nose, it was entering his body, but every time his lungs expanded, needles entered his flesh and stung so deeply. There was wetness on his face, and it was still flowing freely from his eyes, his hiccuping sobs jolting his body with every inhale.  
Through his tears, he saw Soonyoung and Seokmin rush into his view, along with the blurry face of someone with brown hair. The one with brown hair started to prop Jeonghan’s body up against a stack of pillows, but the movement made him cry out in pain. Hands were placed on his shoulders, and he heard the word calm said to him, but it was so hard.  
Eventually, he began taking shorter, quicker breaths to prevent his lungs from expanding too much, lessening his pain. The unknown person wiped his face with a damp towel, and an older woman sat by the wall, mixing herbs using a pestle and mortar.  
Jeonghan gasped out, his voice groggy both from sleep and pain. “What… happened?”  
Soonyoung and Seokmin, who sat by the bed with equally worried expressions, looked to the brown haired man dabbing the cold cloth on his head.  
The one wiping his face looked surprised he was talking, his hand pausing for a second or two before dabbing the cloth against his neck, shining with sweat. “You fainted after the council meeting. You seemed to be in great pain, so Soonyoung brought you here.”  
“And.. where is.. Here?”  
“The Healer’s hut.” Jeonghan looked up to the woman by the window who was now smiling softly at him. She stood and walked over to the bed, the man with the cloth moving out of her way as she did so. “It gave us quite the scare. We don’t see many rejections in this pack, not anymore.”  
Jeonghan inhaled sharply at the statement, gasping and coughing at the pain as it ripped through his body once more. The man with brown hair, the nurse he supposed, held his shoulders back against the pillows behind him, muttering softly at him to stay straight. He blinked at the woman, his eyes running out of tears to shed but vision still blurry from pain. “How.. could you tell?”  
The woman smiled at him knowingly, and though by all sense and appearances she seemed like a mother caring for her son, Jeonghan felt the look penetrate his soul. “You pain has progressively gotten worse over the past few hours with no external or internal injuries… and you’ve been crying constantly. I’ve seen a few rejection cases in my day, but none quite like yours.” She sat down on a stool next to the bed. Her knowing smile unnerved Jeonghan and caused him more discomfort than wanted in his condition. “People don’t usually reject their destined mate.”  
The wind knocked out of Jeonghan’s lungs; the shock he felt subsided his pain long enough for him to jolt upright, against the wishes of the nurse who tried to push him back against the pillows. “You’re certain?”  
The woman nodded and smiled as he reached behind her to the desk and grabbing her pestle, pulling it into her lap. “I’m sure. Normal imprintations hurt when rejected, yes, but they don’t leave such lasting or increasing effects.” Jeonghan slumped back in defeat at this news.  
“Usually, the pain is faint and it fades after a few days. But in your case, the pain is initially intense, and has gradually gotten worse.” She used a wooden spoon on the nightstand beside her to scoop a small amount of the herbs in her pestle before feeding it to Jeonghan. He swallowed painfully as the stabbing in his chest returned.  
“I haven’t seen one in my lifetime, but my mother told me that when someone was rejected by their destined mate, they would feel instant pain. Most couldn't describe what it felt like.”  
Jeonghan looked down at his lap, his hand reaching up and grabbing at his left pectoral, nails digging into the fabric and lightly scraping his skin. He knew what it felt like, and he could attest to those claims.  
The elder woman was looking at him, waiting for a response. When he finally nodded after a few seconds. She gave him a sad smile and continued.  
“The pain will progress slowly, spreading from your heart and chest to the rest of your body, down your abdomen, to your legs and arms, then slowly invading your head. Then… the pain becomes too much for your body to bear, and it gives up the fight.”  
Jeonghan looked up at her in alarm, feeling the pain the quick movement brought him but not registering it completely. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed everyone in the room looking at her; Seokmin, Soonyoung, the nurse, no one had expected this.  
“What do you mean, ‘give up the fight?’” Soonyoung couldn’t hold his tongue.  
The woman looked at Jeonghan with such intense pity that she didn’t need to say anything more.  
Jeonghan looked down at his chest where his hand grabbed his heart, mind in shock to the point he forgot how to breathe. Everything from then on felt like an out of body experience. He could hear the doctor talk to Seokmin and Soonyoung, but he couldn’t make out the words. Was this what imminent death felt like? He couldn’t wrap his head around it.  
A few minutes of talking passed before Jeonghan returned to his body. He lifted his head to face Soonyoung, who was now standing closer to the bed talking to the woman. “Soonyoung, can you take me to where I’m supposed to stay?”  
Soonyoung blinked at him in shock, gesturing vaguely at him. “Dude, you have bigger things to worry about than where you’ll sleep tonight!”  
“That’s not what I’m asking.” Jeonghan shook his head softly and sighed, life draining from him as he acclimated to the facts. “I just.. I want to get to work, okay?”  
Soonyoung gave a worried look to the doctor. “He-”  
The head healer looked to Jeonghan, whom was giving her a pleading look, “can work and do normal things, but he needs to get plenty of bed rest.” Jeonghan heaved a sigh of relief at the news. Just because he was going to die did not mean that peace should not happen.  
Slowly, and with the help of the male nurse, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, Soonyoung coming to him and helping him pull his weight. He heard Seokmin whisper a small “Thanks, Shua.” to the nurse as he was handed off, but his mind was too far away from his body to pay attention. Every step shook his ribcage, and every breath pushed needles into his lungs. He was careful not to show too much pain, that way no one in the pack would know something was wrong, but by the time they made it to his room, and Soonyoung carefully settled him to sit on the bed, and looked at him in worry.  
“Jeonghan, didn’t you hear her? You only have a few weeks left, if that--”  
“I heard Soonyoung, I heard.” Jeonghan sighed and looked around him, his movements causing pain, but his body was quickly adjusting to his new disability. “Go ahead and bring me my share of work, I’ll do it here for today. Tell whoever is in charge, I’ll begin working in the council room tomorrow, alright?”  
“Tomorrow?! Jeonghan, I really think you should be care--”  
“I’ll be fine, Soonyoung, really.” He smiled weakly at him, his hands already working on removing his shirt to be more comfortable. “Just do me one favor, please?”  
Soonyoung looked ready to object again, but decided against it. He shook his head and reluctantly went and grabbed the paperwork that was brought to Jeonghan’s new abode by the council messenger. Placing the paperwork on the bed side table, while Jeonghan continued to get comfortable on the bed. Without saying another word, but throwing a few anxious glances, Soonyoung left.  
Once the door was closed, Jeonghan picked up the small stack, thumbing through it before putting it back down. He smiled sadly at the pile of papers, a tear escaping the corner of his eye and trailing down his cheek. Soon, several tears began coating his cheeks, dripping off his chin on to his pants and the comforter below him. He inhaled shakily, his lungs greeting the inflation with pain, but he refused to sob. He knew now that every sob brought twice the pain, and though he wanted nothing more than to just sit and cry, he knew it would do more harm than good. With the tears still flowing, he picked up the first report in the stack and began finalizing the peace treaty.  
The rest of the first day was painful. His body was adjusting to the constant pain, and Jeonghan doubted whether it would before it gave up. Between the paragraphs of his reports, he found himself wondering what would actually happen. Would he die in a few weeks, or sooner? How exactly would the pain spread, and how could he identify it’s progress, especially if his body did eventually get used to the pain. Although the pain that consumed his body was great, it was nothing compared to the incredible sadness he was now riddled with. He tried to stop crying, but the tears seemed to be endless. Even when he felt there were none more to shed, more appeared in his eyes and down his cheeks.  
Late one night, as he poured over reports trying not to get his tears on them, a knock sounded at his door. He jolted slightly, reeling in pain as the sudden movement strained his muscles and lungs. He wondered who it could be, and he half hoped it would be Seungcheol coming to apologize, and perhaps accept him.  
“Come in.”  
His throat hurt from not speaking, but was clear enough to be heard, and the nurse from earlier poked his head around the door of the room, seemingly nervous. “Hello, I’m delivering medicines from the doctor that should help with the pain.”  
Jeonghan nodded, setting aside his papers while simultaneously waving the nurse into the room. “Of course, come in, come in. Sorry, I’ve been distracting myself for the past couple of days, I didn't get a chance to thank you and the doctor.”  
The nurse shook his head as he stepped inside the room, closing the door behind him and walking closer to the bed Jeonghan attempted to stand. He held a small wooden box in his hands, and he set it on the nightstand, opening it to reveal several small vials and jars.  
“Don’t worry about it, she understands. She’s never seen anything quite like this.” He pulled out one of the small jars and opened it, a strong scent of rosemary filling the room as he did so. He pulled out a sprig before closing and replacing the jar. Jeonghan watched him do this a few times, sometimes with herbs and other times with liquids, putting everything into a small mortar inside the box before beginning to grind them together, similar to how he saw the woman do it earlier. Jeonghan looked at the nurse’s face for the first time since they had met. His brown eyes had small yellow flakes in them. He recalled, suddenly, that the doctor from earlier has the same eyes.  
“The doctor from before… she’s your mother?”  
The nurse looked at Jeonghan and nodded before giving him a cat like grin. “It’s the eyes, isn’t it?” When Jeonghan nodded, he laughed. “Most people in the pack know that my family is the healer legacy. My mom, her mom, my great-grandfather before that, his aunties.. It's a long line, and I’m proud to carry it on.”  
Jeonghan nodded, looking down to where his fingers idly played with the papers. “I’m sorry, but I don't think I caught your name. I heard Soonyoung call you “Shua," but I’m sure that’s just a nickname.”  
The nurse nodded. “The others gave me that nickname when we were young, and I couldn’t shake it. It’s short for Joshua.”  
“Ah, I’m- “  
“Jeonghan, I know.” Joshua smiled up at him before returning to grinding the herbs. “I’m also a member of the council, so I should probably remember you from the meeting. And Soonyoung was shouting at you while you were passed out, so I have his voice going ‘Jeonghan!’ over and over in my head.”  
Jeonghan laughed softly at that before hissing in pain again, his hands grabbing at his left pectoral and his eyes clenching shut at the pain. He heard shuffling in front of him and felt Joshua push gently against his lips. He opened his lips slightly, the most he could do in an effort to control the pain, and Joshua pushes a small wad of herbs into his mouth. It took him a few seconds, but Jeonghan was able to swallow it. He heard Joshua moving the jars around again, the jars clinking together slightly as he did so. By the time the noises had stopped, Jeonghan was able to open his eyes without much pain, and though his depression was still there, it no longer felt like he was being burned alive from the inside out. He looked at Joshua in wonder.  
“How did you-“  
Joshua shook his head, scooping the contents of the mortar into an empty jar and leaving it on the nightstand as he packed up his medicine box. “I’ll be returning every day to make more medicine and check your condition. This hasn’t happened in my lifetime, and it likely never will, so I hope you don’t mind my documentation.”  
Jeonghan shook his head, and Joshua began to make his way out of the room. Before he reached the door, however, Jeonghan called after him.  
“Has.. has Seungcheol been informed about my situation?”  
Joshua shook his head. “I haven’t said anything and neither has my mother, and I doubt Soonyoung or Seokmin told him. I was going to stop by after this and talk to him.”  
Jeonghan nodded, running a hand through his hair. “Would it be possible to.. not tell him? About this?”  
Joshua raises an eyebrow at him, and Jeonghan sighed. “I guess it would be possible.. why don’t you want him to know?”  
Jeonghan shrugged, shaking his head and burying his face in his hands. “I just.. I don’t want him to accept me because he pities me. I want him to accept me because he accepts me… and that’s not going to happen.”  
He looked at Joshua between his fingers, and saw Joshua look at him sadly, but he nodded silently before leaving. As the door clicked shut, Jeonghan lifted a shaky hand and pressed against his left pectoral again, testing the limits of the pain. It wasn’t gone completely, and he still struggled to breath, but it was definitely more manageable. The only apparent drawback was the newly increased sadness. As soon as he was alone again, tears fell once more, and a sense of worthlessness filled his entire being. A sob escaped his throat, and the physical pain it brought him was infinitesimal compared to the depression he now faced.  
Great, he thought. This stupid rejection hurts either way.  
Disregarding the rest of his paperwork, Jeonghan reached for a pillow on the bed and hugged it close, curling into a ball and pressing his face into it. Normally he would transform into a wolf for sleep, but he was almost scared of what the wolf would feel like in this unfamiliar depressive state. Not being in his true form was almost like the last straw, and he began sobbing violently into the pillow, new tears he didn’t know still existed in his body flowing freely down his cheeks. He couldn’t silence them no matter how hard he tried, and the harder he tried, the more it hurt. He fell asleep a few hours later, tears still leaving his eyes even as his body had exhausted itself.  
He woke the next day to stabbing in his chest. He exclaimed, his hands reaching up to where he felt the most pain concentrated, but there was nothing there; in fact, when his hands touched the muscle beneath his shirt, it caused electricity to shoot down his spine, and he gasped, fingers twisting into the sheets beside him.  
As the pain slowly died down, he took deep breaths to calm his frantic heart, the needles pushing into his lungs but the pain, he realized, was slowly becoming more tolerable, almost expected. The usual. Jeonghan tried to concentrate, focusing on his body as hard as he could to locate any differences from yesterday besides the new intensity of the pain. Maybe he could feel it straining against the muscles in his arms, but that was a stretch considering he couldn’t exactly remember where the borders of his pain ended yesterday.  
He looked over to the jar Joshua had left on his nightstand, a hand reaching for the glass before halting, his eyes watching his hand shaking in midair. Did he want to face that sadness again when he already wanted to die so badly?  
He let his hand drop to the covers, tears leaking out of his eyes again. Jeonghan hit his head with his free hand, cursing at himself with no anger in his voice. “Goddamnit. Is crying all you’re good at? Can’t you do anything else?”  
After a few more tears, he sat up in the bed and reached for the strewn pile of papers by his feet. Though the sadness battled within himself, he tried to shove it to the furthest corner of his mind and focus on council work he had to complete. Maybe if he couldn’t win his mate’s heart, he could at least prove he wasn't useless before he died.  
It took a few hours, and not every paper made it out of Jeonghan’s hands without tear stains, but he was able to finish the initial stack he’d brought with him yesterday. Wiping his eyes for the upteenth time, he moved to stand up before hissing in pain, his knees buckling under him from disuse and causing him to kneel on the floor, the papers dropping from his hands and scattering across the dirt floor. He gasped aloud as flames of pain engulfed him, blond hair falling over his panicking eyes as his fingernails dug into the packed dirt beneath him. He couldn’t have been there for a few seconds before he felt someone rush toward his body, hands grabbing and shaking his shoulders. He couldn’t make out much after that, and his vision was tinged red with the flames, but he had a vague sense of what was happening. He felt his body clumsily being carried up onto the bed, and he felt the person fluff the pillow under his cranium. His gasps echoed in the closed room, but they slowly spaced out as he regained his composure. He rapidly blinked away the red, feeling sweat trickle down the side of his face under the strain that ripped through his being. By the time he was able to see somewhat clearly, his fringe was soaked with sweat and all of his muscles were tense.  
A hand waved in front of his face, and his attention was drawn to the silver haired wolf that sat beside him. Soonyoung’s face was pulled into a tight worried frown, his striking stormy gray eyes staring at him in concern. When Joenghan lifted his face, Soonyoung sighed in relief, the hand reaching up and twisting into the shining strands on his head. “For fucks christ, I thought someone had poisoned you! Jesus, Jeonghan..”  
Despite the situation, Jeonghan couldn’t help but laugh, but he immediately groaned in pain as his lungs contracted, his heart throbbing in his chest. He panted, one eye squinting shut as he controlled his movements. “I think someone did. Call the healer.”  
She came after a few minutes and checked his pulse delicately, her mouth twisting into a confused frown. She checked his temperature and his pain, but the more she checked, the more confused she looked. Joshua sat to the side, Looking at his mother with a worried expression; he didn’t know what was going on either.  
She sighed as she finally stepped away from Jeonghan, and her pitiful look confirmed everything.  
“It got worse, didn’t it?”  
She nodded, a hand raising to her chest as she looked over his body again, visibly going over her mental checklist again. “I don’t understand, it’s advanced so much in just a day. There shouldn’t be any factors influencing it-” She paused, her eyes raising and meeting Jeonghan’s piercing green tinged ones, and immediately bowed low on the ground. Joshua ran toward his mother’s form, kneeling beside her and looking at Jeonghan.  
“What’s going on, what did she do?”  
Jeonghan gestured vaguely to the nightstand, his body protesting every single move he made and forcing him to lay back against the pillows after doing so. Joshua followed the gesture, seeing the little glass jar on the nightstand with the herbs inside of it. He gasped silently as his mother stood, standing with her and bowing as well.  
She looked so sadly at Jeonghan, it hurt his heart in a way he hadn’t experienced these past few days. “It seems.. Using the herbs to dull the pain worked for a short while but worsened the rejection symptoms after the pain relievers wore off. Where he had about two weeks before, his body only has a few more days, a week at most.” She bowed again. “I am truly sorry.”  
Jeonghan shook his head, his hand rubbing at his left pectoral, a habit he seemed to be developing. “It’s not your fault, you didn’t know.” He looked around at all the people in his room, the healer, Joshua, and Soonyoung. His voice was shaky, but he managed to hold his tears back. “I’d like to be alone, if you don’t mind.”  
They all nodded and slowly filed out, Soonyoung leaving first and holding the door open for the healers. When the door thudded shut, Jeonghan waited for the tears to come, but for the first time since being rejected, he wanted to cry and no tears would come. Overwhelmed with anger and sadness, he twisted his hand into the sheet, gripping so tightly his knuckles turned white and his arm lost feeling. He pulled a pillow over his face and screamed into the fabric, feeling the hot tears of shame finally burn down his face. He sobbed from deep in his chest, squeezing the pillow close to him and pressing his face into the fluff, the fabric muffling the sobs but not greatly. He was sure Soonyoung was listening at the door and could hear him, but he didn't walk in, and for that he was grateful.  
The rest of the day he spent inside his room, crying himself to sleep and waking up to cry some more. By the third time he woke up, it was night time and he felt extremely feverish, his body covered in sweat in the cool night. His body burned as his temperature rose, his breath short and his vision foggy. Through the blurred lines, he thought he saw a form by his bed, and he struggled to make out who it was.  
“I will never mate with someone like you.”  
The voice pierced his heart like daggers, the words doing double damage. Jeonghan looked frantic at the figure, trying to make out Seungcheol’s features but failing. He struggled to speak, but his throat closed on him, his breathing becoming strained and his heart rate spiking because of it.  
“You aren’t good enough to be my mate.”  
Tears pricked behind Jeonghan’s eyes, and he reached out to touch Seungcheol, but the figure moved away form his fingers. The tears fell, and Jeonghan choked trying to speak, his head hurting from not getting oxygen.  
“It would be better for me if you died.”  
Jeonghan gasped as he woke up, taking in deep breaths. His body ached all over, and the sunlight streaming in through the window told him it was the next day. After he regained more of his composure, he tried to turn his head to the side and was met with great difficulty. It was almost as if drying cement had replaced his blood. Painfully, he slowly turned his head to face the people beside him, noticing the healers and Soonyoung again, along with Seokmin this time. They all looked even more worried than the last time he’d seen them, which was yesterday right?  
The healer reached for his wrist and checked his pulse, her eyebrows cinching in worry. She adjusted her grip and tried again, but her expression just worsened. “Jeonghan, can you see me.”  
Jeonghan opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out at first. He cleared his throat and tried again, voice weak and shredded. “Yes, ma’am.”  
“How do you feel?”  
“Like shit.”  
Everyone laughed at his comment except the healer, but she offered him a small sad smile. “Do you know how long you’ve been asleep?”  
He tried to shake his head, but gasped softly as pain shot up his neck. He choked softly again, but was able to speak. “How.. long?”  
“2 days.”  
He coughed, gasping sickly as he tried to get air into his body but tears leaking out of the corner of his eyes again at the pain it brought him. His raw eyes burned at the salty tears, and his eyes fluttered, more tears falling and bringing more pain. Joshua reached toward him and wiped his face with a damp cloth, thankfully cold against his flaming skin. His sweat soaked bangs were wiped off his forehead in the process, and he felt the cool cloth soothe the irritation around his eyes. Once Joshua had backed away again, he made eye contact with the healer, though his vision at the distance was fuzzy. “It’s.. not your fault.” He took a wheezing breath, and she looked at him sadly again. His heart dropped; something else must've happened.  
Joshua sighed and looked at Jeonghan seriously. “We had to tell Seungcheol.”  
The wind was knocked out of him, and Jeonghan sat up despite the excruciating pain that shook his core. “You did what?!”  
Joshua looked at him sadly, a hand placing itself on his mother’s back. “It’s protocol, Jeonghan. There was nothing I could do.”  
Jeonghan bit his lip, the pain coursing through his body and heightening his senses. He could almost feel his eyes glowing their true color as he struggled to calm down. “Has.. Has he seen me?” Joshua shook his head, and Jeonghan felt himself breath again, choking on the pain it brought him for his lungs to expand. “Good. Let’s keep it that way.”  
Before he could say anything more, a knock sounded on the door. Everyone looked in it’s direction as it opened, revealing an all too well known face.  
Seungcheol stepped into the room and awkwardly shoved his hands into his clothes. He looked at Jeonghan briefly before looking to everyone else, but that short stare was enough for Jeonghan to choke again, his body burning hotter than ever as it suffered. “Can you give us a minute?”  
Jeonghan’s body fought against his control, the green in his eyes flickering into view as his adrenaline heightened. Joshua pat his arm before he left, and he wished someone would stay with him, but he almost couldn’t wait to be completely alone with Seungcheol. Jeonghan’s mouth hung slightly agape, his chest tightly constricting and his heart beating painfully fast. Seungcheol sat in the chair beside his bed, elbows resting on his knees, looking at Jeonghan sadly, but he stayed silent. They sat for a few minutes, no words being exchanged. Jeonghan could feel his body get increasingly more tense as the seconds passed.  
“Listen, Joenghan, I-”  
“I’m not interested in your pity.” He physically flinched as the words left his lips, his left eye screwing shut as he faced the expected strain, but he didn’t miss Seungcheol flinch as well. “If that’s what you’re here for, you can let me die.”  
Seungcheol flinched at the harshness of the words, sighing in defeat after a few seconds and running a hand down his face. “I know I haven't been the best pack leader to you.. I know I have been an even worse fated mate.”  
The words made Jeonghan’s heart fluter, and though it brought him happiness, his heart hurt even more. Slowly, he looked up at Seungcheol as best he could with the pain restricting his movements.”Do.. Do you finally believe me?”  
Seungcheol shook his head, Jeonghan’s hopeful feeling falling considerably. “I knew you were my mate when I walked in the council room that day.” He shook his head, hands running through his hair as he dealt with his emotions. Jeonghan could tell he was nervous, and it brought a small smile to his face. “I just didn’t want to believe it. Being pack leader.. It’s so new to me. I thought I had to take the matter of who I chose as my mate very seriously, because the future of the pack depends on it. But now.. I see I can't cheat my fate.”  
Hesitantly, Seungcheol’s hands reached out and wrapped around Jeonghan’s, holding his delicate hand in his calloused ones. “Every second from when I rejected you.. I felt everything. I knew this was hurting you, but seeing you today.. It wasn't even half.” Seungcheol looked up at Jeonghan, shame etched so deeply into his features, Jeonghan had to wonder if he’d been wearing that mask for the past week. “When Joshua told me.. I realized how much I hated the idea of you dying over an asshole like me.”  
Jeonghan laughed softly, the pain in his chest accompanied the warmth in his heart. Soft tears leaked out of his eyes, and Seungcheol lifted his hand to wipe the tears with his thumb. He cupped Jeonghan’s cheek in his palm, and Jeonghan wanted nothing more than to forget the pain holding him back and nuzzle into his palm.  
“I guess.. I just wanted to say I’m sorry for everything I put you through.” Seungcheol offered a soft smile to Jeonghan between his words. “I hope.. You’ll let me make it up to you. By accepting to be my mate.”  
Before Seungcheol had finished his sentence, Jeonghan had already nodded. The initial pain lifted from his chest almost immediately, only leaving the repercussions, like the fever and muscle pain. His throat was tight too, but it was from his emotions. Jeonghan grabbed at Seungcheol’s forearms, the tears that were falling from so many emotions and none of them were from sadness. He tried to pull himself closer to Seungcheol, but his body protested in every way possible. Instead, he slumped down on top of the bed, body exhausted, his head falling at the edge of the mattress. He couldn't see him, but he could feel Seungcheol stand and move, happiness filling his chest as Seungcheol pulled his crumpled body in his arms, weakly snaking his arms around Seungcheol’s neck as Seungcheol laid him in his lap on the bed, his hand running through his blonde hair.  
“Is this a dream? Is this actually you?  
Seungcheol nodded slightly, his cheek brushing the top of Jeonghan’s head as he did so. “Not a dream, I promise.”  
Jeonghan nuzzled as close as his body would allow to Seungcheol, the closeness already making him feel more whole and okay than he had in his entire life, let alone the past week. Already, he could feel his consciousness slipping, and Seungcheol kissed the top of his head.  
“I’ll protect you from now on.”


	2. A Fateful Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A single night, disastrous consequences

A Year Later...

Time - 12:37 A.M.

Wonwoo’s paws pounded the ground beneath him as he ran through the thick forest, the puddles from the most recent rain splashing against his black hide. He could hear his pursuers falling behind, getting lost in the maze of the forest that he knew so well, and he pushed forward, heading west where the sun was now dipping. Taking short breaks every once in a while to refurbish his strength, he came upon a small clearing long after midnight, panting heavily as he collapsed on the soft grass beneath his long belly. Not even a few seconds later, he heard a soft rustling meters beyond the clearing, and his ears flicked towards the noise. He perked up, looking at the brustles lining the edge, his eyes seeing movement in the shadows. 

He made to run and leave, fearing his pursuers had caught him, but was tackled by a wolf in a flash of rich, chocolate brown. They rolled for a while and tousled, Wonwoo breaking away after a few seconds. They circled around the clearing, preparing to pounce again, but the brown wolf in front of him stopped and stared at him, his pretty brown eyes boring into his own black ones. Wonwoo paused as well, wondering what his attacker could be planning, but was surprised when the wolf suddenly transformed into a tall, tan boy. He watched the boy hold out a hand, trying to calm him. “It’s fine, everything is fine, let’s not fight.”

Wonwoo cocked his head at him, taking a step back from him, fearful of what he could be planning. When the boy made no moves, he transformed into his bipedal form as well, though he remained crouched on the grass and his muscles remained tense. “You’re the one who attacked me, or did you forget that detail?”

The tall boy crouched as well, taking a few careful moves forward, stopping when Wonwoo growled at him. He dissented and stayed where he was, looking at Wonwoo seriously. “I’m sorry about that, I thought you were an enemy.” He tilted his head, leaning forward and looking at Wonwoo again, and Wonwoo tilted his body back, maintaining the distance between them. “I can tell you aren’t from around here.”

Though he had attacked him mere seconds ago, the boy in front of him had a soft aura he emanated, mixing with his alpha pheromones. Wonwoo felt his body relaxing slightly, and he adjusted his position to a more vulnerable one, which seemed fair considering the boy in front of him was completely exposed. In fact, if he really wanted to, Wonwoo could pounce and kill him instantly, even in his human form. “Am I in someone’s territory?”

The boy in front of him nodded, gesturing over his shoulder with his thumb. “My pack is about a hundred or so meters that way, and it extends to this clearing.”

Wonwoo looked around the clearing, trying to map in his head where he could possibly be and what pack was in this direction. He ruffled his hair, and though he didn’t see, the boy in front of him smiled fondly at the action. He muttered absentmindedly to himself, “Where.. What packs did I pass?” He counted on his fingers the different ones he could think of, and finally, a lightbulb went off. “Ahhh,” he exclaimed, turning his attention back to the wolf in front of him and pointing at him. “This is the Seventeen pack, isn’t it?” When the wolf nodded, he ruffled his hair again sheepishly, almost embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think I was so far west.”

“It’s okay, just be thankful I’m the one that found you.” He smiled at him, and Wonwoo couldn’t help but think he had a nice smile. “If any of the other council members had found you, they wouldn’t have been so understanding.”

Wonwoo nodded, bowing on the grass in apology. “I’m really sorry, I’ll leave immediately.”

He really intended to leave right then, but the boy waved his hands quickly. “No! It’s really okay!” He cleared his throat and adjusted his seat awkwardly, looking at Wonwoo again. “I’m in charge of this area this week, so you have some time to rest and get your energy back. Please, stay.” He looked over his shoulder quickly and looked back at Wonwoo, beginning to stand up. “I’ll go get you some food! Wait here!” 

Before Wonwoo could tell him no, he had already transformed and bounded off. Wonwoo sighed; he was perfectly capable of hunting his own food, but the idea of resting after his long run seemed so compelling. He transformed back into his wolf and curled up in the soft grass, tucking his head under his paws and resting his eyes. In the back of his mind, he questioned why he was letting his guard down, but something about that brown wolf made him feel oddly safe. 

It was a few minutes before the wolf came back, transforming back and depositing a drained rabbit in front of Wonwoo’s form. He ravaged it quickly, hungry from all his running, before transforming back into his bipedal form once more, sitting awkwardly on the grass across from the tan boy, who was now sitting much closer than before. He cleared his throat, bowing his head politely and avoiding eye contact with him. 

The boy leaned forward, his eyes shining with hope and optimism. Wonwoo looked away quickly. “What’s your name?”

Wonwoo’s eyes flicked up to the boy’s before quickly looking away again, his fingers playing with the grass. “Wonwoo…”

“Wonwoo…” the boy said, as if he were testing the name in his mouth, before nodding. He held his arm out, smiling at Wonwoo again. “I’m Mingyu.”

Wonwoo looked from Mingyu’s face to his arm, hesitantly reaching forward and grasping his forearm in greeting, electricity shocking his skin as he did so. He pulled away, shy, nodding politely at the wolf in front of him. “Nice to meet you, Mingyu.”

“So why were you traveling this way? What pack are you from?”

Raising an eyebrow cautiously at him, Wonwoo began playing with the grass in front of him to avoid eye contact with him. “I’m not in a pack anymore; I left.”

Even though he didn’t look at him, he could see in his mind the look of surprise on Mingyu’s face. Why wouldn’t he be? There hasn’t been a wolf to willingly leave any pack in decades, certainly not in several generations. He braced himself for the same questions he’d been running from. 

“What’d they do?”

His body deflated at the anticlimax of the question. “What.. do you mean?”

Mingyu shrugged, looking confused. “You don’t seem like the type to just abandon your pack without a reason, and you certainly aren’t a selfish person.” Wonwoo blushed at the compliment, but Mingyu didn’t see, so he continued. “So.. something must’ve happened in your pack to drive you away.”

Wonwoo nodded slowly, looking up to Mingyu again. “You.. don’t think I’m abandoning my pack?”

Mingyu shook his head, and relief washed over Wonwoo’s form, his body sagging dramatically. Even this small amount of support was enough to make him feel 10x better about his decision, and the little regret he had in his heart dissipated a little more. He exhaled to calm his racing heart and looked at Mingyu out of the corner of his eye, his eyes still fixated on the wolf he’d just met as if he was the most interesting creatures on earth. The way his heart jolted in his chest told him something had happened, something that had never happened to him before, and he was both scared and excited to find out what it meant. He made eye contact with Mingyu once more, and the tan boy smiled at him, leaning forward to get closer again. 

“Can you tell me what happened?”

Time - 1:12 A.M.

“Ah, the first hunt of the month. You know what that means?”

Jihoon rolled his eyes at his mate as they walked out of the pack entrance, him and Soonyoung leading their group to the designated area for that night’s hunt. “That you aren’t gonna shut up?”

He laughed softly at Soonyoung’s sad face, elbowing his side gently. “I’m kidding, maybe. What does it mean?”

Soonyoung smiled at him, skipping forward slightly and turning around as he walked to face Jihoon. “It’s time to test my theory.”

He raised an eyebrow at Soonyoung, unaware of what he was talking about. “What theory?”

“My theory that rabbits are most plentiful at the beginning of the month.”

Jihoon rolled his eyes, grabbing Soonyoung’s forearm and pulling him back in line with him, a few of the other council members laughing behind him. “Why don’t you just care about feeding the pack and not your theory? We have to be mindful not to overhunt, and remind the others not to, either.”

Hansol jogged up beside him, smiling at the both of them and the members he left behind. “Yeah, who cares about rabbits when you can have deer! Deer season is almost here, we might be able to get some early ones.”

“Yeah, and maybe even a wild boar too.”

“Exact- Hey, Jun-hyung, that’s not nice!”

Jihoon shook his head at the scuffling around him. “There’s no need to make this a competition-”

“Yeah, Hansol,” Joshua’s voice cut him off, and Jihoon couldn’t even be mad because he was older. “You shouldn’t make that bet, cause you know you’d lose.”

Jihoon put his head in his hand as he heard the bet being made, Soonyoung’s arm going around his shoulder as he chuckled. “You wishing you could’ve stayed home?”

When he nodded, Soonyoung laughed loudly, drawing teasing comments from those around them until Jihoon shoved him off, shaking his head in faux disappointment as he marched ahead, the other pack members laughing and trailing after him. 

They made it to rendezvous before too long, and Jihoon turned to face them all, Soonyoung standing beside.him. “You know what to do. Hunt only for what we need, not what you want.”

Everyone nodded, and several people immediately transformed and sprinted off until only the council members remained. Jihoon stretched and sighed, his eyes falling to where Hansol, Seungkwan, Joshua, and Jun stood, chatting amongst themselves. 

“I can guarantee you that I will find a deer before our Hansol does.”

“As if, Shua; you are a healer, not a hunter. You can’t find one before me, I swear.”

“Listen-”

“Hey,” Jihoon looked at them both before sighing, “You both need to settle this before the sun rises. Get to hunting.” He watched them shake hands, sealing the bet, and he rolled his eyes, transforming and running north, Soonyoung following after him. He hoped those two wouldn’t do anything rash, but he trusted them enough to leave them alone. 

Time - 2:34 A.M. 

Jihoon paused as he felt distress signals coming from several kilometers south east. He and Soonyoung shared a look before running in that direction, landing there a few minutes later before staring in shock at the scene. 

Jun was cradling a bloody human in his arms, looking down at him and trying to apply pressure to his wounds. Joshua was crouched a few feet away, covered in blood, and Hansol was shaking his shoulders, trying to snap him out of whatever trance he was in. Seungkwan was off to the side and the first one to notice the two newcomers. He approached them, shaking slightly, his arms holding himself close in an attempt to calm himself. 

Jihoon de-transformed and looked at Seungkwan, taking his shoulders in his hands and shaking him slightly. “What happened?”

“He- He was-” Seungkwan gulped between his words, trying to stop his stuttering and failing miserably. Hansol came up behind him and held him close, easing his nerves slightly and enabling him to answer. Seungkwan took a deep breath before opening his eyes slightly, looking at the ground below him as he tried to sort his thoughts. “We were… we were just hunting, nothing else. Joshua and Hansol were just trying to catch a deer, that’s all.” he inhaled shakily, and Hansol rubbed his arm, his own eyes shaded in disappointment. “Joshua ran ahead; we thought he was racing, so we ran too. But then…”

He choked on a sob, his hand flying up to clamp over his mouth, and Hansol continued for him, his tone just as somber and confused. “We heard screams.” He looked back to where Jun cradled the human, his hands still trying to cease the bleeding and succeeding slightly. Joshua sat in the same place Hansol left him in, still staring in shock at the human he’d mauled. 

Jihoon and Soonyoung followed his eyes to the scene, and Jihoon nudged Soonyoung forward to handle the situation. He nodded and rushed to Joshua, trying to gain his attention and persuade him to help Jun keep the human alive. Jihoon turned his attention back to Seungkwan, his hands reaching forward and taking hold of his shoulders. “Tell me what happened.”

Seungkwan nodded hesitantly before continuing, “When we got there, Joshua was pinning something to the ground, and we… we thought it was a deer... But it- But it was screaming... There was so much blood…” He couldn’t continue, turning around and burying his face into Hansol’s chest.

Hansol moved his hand along Seungkwan’s back, but his sobbing didn’t cease, so Hansol continued for him “Jun and I were able to pull him off, but the human was losing so much blood. Jun started trying to stop the flow, and I started trying to calm Joshua down. That’s when you guys showed up.” He exhaled, burying his nose into Seungkwan’s hair, his mind clearly busy, so Jihoon didn’t push him further. 

He looked over the scene, the chaos in the clearing. Jihoon sighed, running a hand through his hair as he looked over the scene, wishing Seungcheol were here. He cleared his throat, and the wolves before him turned their attention to him one by one. Even Joshua was able to move his eyes to him. 

“Let’s get back to the pack.”

Time - 2:42 A.M.

As they made their way back to the pack, Jun’s heart was flipping in his chest with just about every emotion a person can feel. He was helping to carry the human back, the thin arms of the human expanding across his and Soonyoung’s shoulders as they awkwardly carried him through the forest. Jihoon was ahead of them, clearing the path and trying to contact the other groups, and Suengkwan and Hansol were behind them, trying to talk to Joshua like the close friends they were. Jun wasn’t dense, and neither was anyone else. They all knew how serious Joshua’s offense was; killing or even attacking a human was punishable by deportation or even death in the past. Joshua knew that too, and, being a healer, he was no doubt beating himself up about it in his mind. But Jun had more important things on his mind.

He knew this feeling in his chest, the feeling that started when he saw him on the ground and that grew as he got closer, electrifying his skin every time they made contact. He knew from staying up every night reading those romance novels. He knew this feeling was from finding his mate. He hadn’t imprinted, and the human damn well couldn’t have accepted it in the state he was in, so that only left one option.

Jun had found his fated mate. 

He knew the minute he’d began taking care of him, he knew from the fear that rose in his chest at the thought of losing the human, a complete stranger. His mind was swirling, unable to produce a single conscious thought, his body acting on impulses he didn’t know he had. Even as they walked back, he couldn’t wrap his head around it. There was little record of imprinted humans staying in the pack, but there was no record of a human being a fated mate to a werewolf in their pack, and considering Jun had read every book of records pertaining to mates in the council library, he was pretty certain he was the first.

And his mate was dying in his arms. 

Time - 3:05 A.M. 

The head healer, Joshua’s mother, seemed very out of sorts, but patched the human up just fine due to their biological similarities despite her worries for Joshua. She seemed equally as surprised and confused as to why her son would attack a human as everyone else in the council. Jun could tell she knew something was up between him and the human, though she didn’t ask anything, and he was grateful for it. Though he was sure the human lying on the cot before him was his mate, he almost wanted to wait until the human could accept him, or at least wasn’t dying for sure, to tell other people about his discovery.

After she finished her examination, she stepped back and began making medicine for his wounds. The human remained unconscious from his loss of blood, and she hummed as she ground the pestle, her eyes looking at Jun with wisdom from her years. “He’ll be asleep for a while, honey, he’s been really hurt. You can go now if you want.”

Jun shook his head, his hand gently tapping the cot as a way to control his emotions better. “I want to stay with him if that’s alright.”

She nodded, looking back down at her mortar and continuing the medicine and her humming. “I’m just curious why you want to stay with him, dear. You two didn’t know each other before this night, and I know that because you don’t leave the pack enough to sneak off and see a human.”

Jun looked over the human again, sighing and resisting the urge to hold his hand, even if to comfort himself. “I… just feel like a council member should be present… to make sure he doesn’t run away…”

He could almost feel her disbelief radiating off of her, and he saw the smile on her face out of the corner of his eye. “Why not the pack leader? Or,” her eyes flicked up to him, alight with mischief, “the pack leader’s mate?”

A jolt ran down his back at the word, almost triggering a fight-or-flight response within himself. Jun cleared his throat awkwardly, avoiding eye contact with her and keeping his focus directed away. “They’re busy dealing with what to do with Shua, I can’t ask them to step away from something so important.”

“And what about you, council bookkeeper? Keeping records of important events is your job, isn’t it?”

“Yes, and it’s also Seokmin’s job too. He’ll write everything down. Only one person is needed, anyway.” Jun was bluffing, and doing it very badly for that matter. It was true Seokmin was a bookkeeper, like himself, but he was mainly responsible for the records. Jun’s main responsibility was documentation. Everyone knew it, especially from the inner council building, so he realized, belatedly, that she would see right through him. He didn’t say anything more though, and she didn’t call his bluff, so they sat with silence between them, the only sounds being the grinding of the mortar and the human’s strained breathing. 

By the time the healer was getting ready to leave, only twenty minutes later, Jun was fast asleep sitting beside the cot, laying his head on the thin mattress beside the human’s thigh. She smiled at the pair, already knowing their connection in her heart. She patted Jun’s back as she passed, looking over them fondly. She knew the human wouldn’t die soon, she wouldn’t let that happen to them, but she did worry for their future. She knew the road they would trek would not be easy, and it would be completely up to the human if the relationship they were meant to have would even begin. As she closed the door to the healing hut, she hoped their ending would be a good one.

Time - 3:21 A.M. 

If there was one word to describe the feeling in the meeting room, it would be “tense.”  
Joshua, Jihoon, and Hansol had finished recounting what had happened in the forest. No one dared to say anything, and all eyes were on Joshua standing at the end of the table. Jun had volunteered to stay with the human, and Hansol had told Seungkwan to wait for him in their room, but other than that, every member of the council was there, and none of them knew what would happen next. Seokmin sat in his seat, his hand already working to document the meeting, though not as efficient of a pace as Jun would’ve been writing.

Joshua still looked in complete shock, his body tense and trembling, and his eyes were large and unfocused as they stared at nothing in particular. His breathing wasn’t even, and he looked like he would faint any second. Not only was it uncharacteristic, it was worrying. After a few seconds, his eyes lifted to look at Seungcheol on the opposite side of the table, and though he looked sickly and his voice was shaky, there was resolve in his tone. “Cheol, you know what you have to do.”

Several members of the council looked at Cheol, who was rubbing his hand on his face in his emotion. Jeonghan placed his palm on his forearm, but the usual calming touch didn’t seem to have much effect. “Shua, this is different-”

“No, Cheol,” they looked back at Joshua, surprised at his request, “I broke the rule. There is nothing different about it; I broke the rule, I deserve maximum punishment.”

“Joshua, you can’t be serious-”

“I am.” He looked at Seungcheol with hard eyes, his fists balling at his sides. “I’m a healer, and today I hurt someone, possibly killed them. A human no less. I put the pack at risk, and I deserve this-”

“I don’t give a fuck what you think you deserve, Joshua.” Seungcheol stood from his chair and looked at Joshua harshly, his eyebrows furrowed in his anger. “I won’t kill you, I’m not going to do that because of a stupid mistake.”

Joshua sighed, looking off to the side slightly. “Seungcheol-”

“You won’t argue with me on this. You didn’t mean to attack the human; you thought it was a deer, that’s what you told me. So, no, I’m not gonna sentence you to death.”

Seokmin looked between the two of them, his pen paused on the page during the silence. Everyone else was doing the same, but he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Hansol was just looking at the table, his face serious. 

Just as he looked at him, Hansol lifted his head to face Seungcheol, his expression dark as he stood. “Seungcheol, this is my fault in the first place. I want to take the punishment for Joshua.”

They all blinked at him, and Seungcheol’s face softened from anger to surprise. Jihoon spoke before anyone else, placing his hand palm down on the table. “Hansol, making the bet doesn’t mean this was your fault.”

Hansol shook his head, looking down to Jihoon from where he stood. “Hyung, you weren’t there. I taunted him, I fired him up. I’ve already decided.” Hansol walked to stand beside Joshua, and though Joshua tried to push him away, Hansol refused to move. He looked to Seungcheol seriously. “I’ll take the punishment.”

Seokmin kept writing, but his eyes, along with everyone else’s, were on the scene before him. After Hansol’s words, they all looked to Seungcheol, who just looked deflated as he stared across the table. Jeonghan stood from his seat and replaced his hand on Seungcheol’s arm, looking from him to the other council members. “It’s late. We’re all tired and stressed. Let’s continue this tomorrow morning, okay?”

Everyone looked around awkwardly, but Jeonghan escorted Seungcheol out of the room before anyone could reply. Everyone looked at Joshua and Hansol, unsure of what to say or do, but he turned and walked out without a word to anyone, Hansol following a few seconds after. Seokmin sat until everyone had left, finishing his writing for the meeting and documenting every word that was said between them as they left. Seconds after the door closed, he dropped the pencil and groaned, stretching his hand to prevent any cramping. He sighed, looking at the empty pack leader chair at the head of the table before looking at Jun’s seat across from his own. He looked at his hand, muscles sore from the speed writing and groaned.

“How he manages to do that… I’ll never know.”

Time - 4:05 A.M. 

Jun woke when someone walked in, jolting him awake when the door closed loudly. He blinked blearily at the intruder, who turned out to be Seokmin, and rubbed at his eyes. “Why’re you being so loud so early in the morning?”

Seokmin raised an eyebrow at him, sitting in the vacant healer chair and pointing at the bags under his eyes. “The meeting’s just ended.”

Jun blinked at him, his mind calculating the things he possibly missed. Suddenly, he looked at Seokmin with grave intensity. “What happened to Josh?”

His spirits weren’t lifted when Seokmin looked at him awkwardly. “Nothing happened to Josh.”

“Bullshit.” He leaned closer to Seokmin and looked at him seriously. “This isn’t the time or your games.”

Seokmin sighed, running a hand through his hair. “No games. Josh is in the clear. But,” Seokmin sighed again, unable to look at Jun as he spoke. “Hansol is getting deported.”

The air was sucked out of Jun’s lungs immediately, and he stared wide eyed at the wolf before him. “What do you mean? That doesn’t even make sense! Why is that-”

“Hansol offered to take the punishment for Joshua, Jun-hyung. There’ll be another meeting tomorrow, but odds are, since he is claiming responsibility, he’ll be leaving us.”

His arms went limp, falling to his sides as he fell back in his chair. The shock overtook him, and he seemed unable to ask anything more. He suddenly wished he hadn’t missed such meetings, but the feeling soon dissipated as he looked at the human beside him again, chest covered in new, white bandages and herbs stuffed in the wounds still green and lively from freshness. He took a moment to appreciate his mate’s face, as if seeing it for the first time. He gulped before licking his lips, his throat suddenly feeling tight and thick. “Hey, Seokmin?” The younger beside him hummed, but Jun wasn’t really waiting for an answer, so he continued, cutting him off. “You know.. This human is my mate.”

The silence in the room became tense instantaneously, Seokmin’s eyes widening in surprise and boring in Jun’s direction. He leaned forward, curious and shocked. “Did you imprint on a human?”

Jun shook his head slowly, his eyes never leaving the human’s face. “Not imprint.. He’s my mate, Seokminnie. Like Jeonghan and Seungcheol kind of mate. Like fated mates.”

They sat in silence for a while, but different kinds. Jun sat in resigned, peaceful silence, if only from his shock, and Seokmin sat in speechless silence from Jun’s confession. Jun could feel Seokmin trying to find the words to say in response, but none seemed right, so they sat in an awkward silence for several long minutes. 

Eventually, Seokmin cleared his throat, gesturing to the human on the cot feebly. “How.. did you know? When did you know? How can you even be sure?”

Sighing, Jun shook his head again, leaning his elbows on the cot as he thoughtfully stared at the sleeping human. “With these kinds of things… you just... know.”

Time - 11:38 A.M.  


Jun fell asleep in the clinic at some point and woke up much later when Joshua's mother came in for morning rounds, He helped the healer take care of the human, but she didn’t stay for too long after, choosing to stay with family for the time being. Apparently, Joshua was going down a dark path, and though Jun didn’t ask for anymore details, he knew Joshua was taking everything harder than he probably should’ve been and would probably make some poor decisions unless someone kept tabs on him. Last night, Seokmin had done him the great favor of bringing him some of his work that needed to be done, mainly transcribing the recent meetings, as well as an extra recording journal for his own personal thoughts.

He was writing in that journal later that evening, recording the events of the past day from his personal standpoint as reference for future generations, specifically the ones pertaining to his mate. He was trying his best to record everything he could, but he struggled to put everything into words. He sighed, looking up at the human’s face as he searched deep within himself to find the right way to describe the feeling, but it ended up just turning into staring at how beautiful the human was. He had longer hair, longer than any of the council members, but shorter than all the girls in the pack, and it was a nice solid black, which, if you look at the demographics in their pack, was outnumbered by the amount of brown haired wolves they possessed. He had a longer face, but his proportions were all even, and they matched his lankier body type. Jun sighed wistfully, resting his chin in his hand as he looked over his mate once more. He still hadn’t figured out how to tell the human that they were basically soulmates, but he figured he could deal with that when he woke up.  


It seemed as soon as the thought crossed his mind, the human’s eyes moved behind his lids. Jun’s eyes widened and he leaned closer for a better look. Their eyes clenched as he struggled to wake up, his arm moving up the cot closer to his head and causing his forearm to bush against Jun’s. The touch sent electricity up his spine, and Jun debated on pulling away but decided against it last minute.  


He leaned forward, watching the human’s face carefully as he began to wake up. “Hey, are you okay?”  


The human paused in his movements and slowly opened his eyes, squinting at first due to their lack of use but adjusting quickly to the light. He seemed to notice Jun was there because he immediately jolted away but stopped when he grimaced in pain, his hand weakly flying to the bandages on his torso. Jun sat back in his chair, moving everything off his lap to the nightstand and trying to ignore his rapid heartbeat. He lifted his hands to his shoulders, showing his palms and displaying the vulnerability. “I won’t hurt you, I promise.”  


The human tried to sit up but exclaimed in pain, falling back onto the table with a painful sounding thud, and Jun flinched at the sounds he made at that. The human looked at him, panting from the pain, and spoke with a raspy voice. “What.. happened?”  


Jun felt incredibly flustered at the question, not just at his voice, but also the knowledge that these were their first words exchanged. He shook himself internally, clearing his throat and looking back at the human. “You were attacked by a wildcat nearby. My friends and I found you and brought you to our, uh… village. You’ve been unconscious for almost a day, but your wounds have begun to heal nicely.” He cleared his throat and gestured to the bandages on the human’s chest, drawing his attention down to the white cloth wrapped around his torso. “You should probably stay for a little while longer while you finish healing; too much movement will reactivate the injuries.”  


The human sighed and lightly hit his head back against the cot. “Great. It’s not like I have anything waiting for me anyway.” Jun didn’t know what to say to that, but he luckily didn’t have to think for long. The human turned his head towards him, his dark eyes meeting his own dark hazel ones and catching the breath in his throat. “We should probably know each other’s names if I’m gonna be sticking around. I’m Minghao.”  


Jun’s heart swelled in his chest, but he managed to contain himself to just a smile in return. “I’m Junhui, but you can call me Jun.”

Time - 12:30 P.M.

Chan couldn’t remember the last time the council room had felt this way. 

The tension was so palpable there were times Chan had to remind himself to breathe. Joshua and Hansol sat in their chairs with their backs straight. Everyone looked at them, but their attention was elsewhere. Hansol’s eyes were trained on the empty seat beside him, where Seungkwan should’ve been sitting, and Joshua seemed to have checked out of reality completely, his own eyes staring unblinkingly at the table. Chan didn’t know how to feel; their council room had never felt so conflicted, and not even all of their members were there.

The council door opened, but only Chan lifted his eyes to their pack leader as he entered. Seungcheol’s eyes seemed to be permanently downcast as well, watching his feet as Jeonghan led him into the room. Even as he sat, no one looked up, and no one said anything.

Finally, Seungcheol sighed and looked up to Jeonghan, who smiled sadly at him, before speaking, “Your… Pack Leader and Pack Leader Mate have made a decision concerning last night’s events. We’ve decided not to leave it to a whole council vote because we believed personal feelings might get in the way of decisions. We ourselves also struggled with what the best solution would be considering the human’s condition and our… council members fight for blame.”

Chan looked across the table, where Joshua was sitting next to Jeonghan, Hansol sitting on his left. Both of them looked tense, but something seemed increasingly dark about Joshua’s appearance. Chan noticed some small movement between Joshua and Jeonghan, and upon closer inspection, it looked like Jeonghan had reached for and was holding Joshua’s hand under the table. His heart flipped: the two were best friends, it was no surprise this was an especially hard decision-

“We’ve decided to punish Hansol for his impulsive actions. Due to his bet, Joshua was directly affected by him. We’ve decided the best course of action would be to banish Hansol to the edge of the forest and place Joshua under strict surveillance.”

The air was sucked out of the room, but whether it was in shock or sadness, no one could tell. Beside him, Chan noticed Seokmin's hand pausing at the words, his emotions being too much for himself to handle, but kept writing nontheless. It was quiet, and Joshua looked indignant at the judgement, but his mouth remained shut. It was the Pack Leader's final decision, there was nothing he could do.

Jeonghan leaned towards him, a worried frown on his lips, "Shua-"

Without another word, Joshua stood from the table and exited the room without a second glance. Jeonghan and Seungcheol exchanged a look before the alpha nodded, Jeonghan springing up and chasing after his best friend. Without his mate, Seungcheol deflated, exhaling for a few seconds before looking at Hansol, who sat with a sense of duty. "I'm sorry, but we'll be sending you off in a few hours. Pack a bag, and say goodbye."

Everyone knew who he was talking about when Hansol looked in the empty chair beside him where Seungkwan was supposed to sit. It dawned on everyone how crushed the betas would be to be apart considering their intense friendship, but Hansol, having a strong sense of duty, nodded to Seungcheol before standing, bowing, and silently exiting the room. It was quiet, but everyone slowly started dwindling out, Seokmin leaving second to last whilst saying something about telling Jun the news.

Time - 1:06 P.M.

Hansol was leaving in mere hours, and no one had notified Jun what was happening. Naturally, Seokmin was tasked with delivering the news, being in the same council department, and Jun had taken it about as well as everyone else had, which was not well at all. On top of that, Seokmin now held the knowledge that the human was Jun’s fated mate. He debated with himself if he should tell the others: Jun hadn’t said to keep it private, but it didn’t really seem like something he was allowed to share. On top of that, everyone seemed preoccupied with everything else, so Seokmin, regretfully, decided against his better judgement and kept the secret.

So, as he carried the next batch of work towards the healing hut that night, he felt resolved in his decision but also like he was hiding a secret. All day, he felt like a liar everytime he looked at his friends and didn’t croak, but at least with Jun, there was nothing to spill. 

Seokmin opened the door, loudly, his back entering the room first as his arms are full of books. “Juni-hyung, we have more records to copy.” He turned around to see an angry Jun glaring at him, his forefinger in front of his lips to tell him to be quiet, his other hand pointing at the human on the bed, in a slightly different position than before and pillows under his back to prop him up according to his wounds. His breathing was more even than it had been that morning, and judging by Jun’s new overprotective attitude, he could guess what was going on. 

He raised an eyebrow and smirked softly as he set the contents of his arms on the stand by the head of the bed. “Ah, has your mate awoken from his slumber? Did true love’s kiss break the curse and free him from a hundred years sleep?”

“Fuck off.” Despite his words, his tone had no bite, and he went back to dabbing a damp cloth along the human’s brow. “Minghao is finally sleeping calmly and I’m not about to have your loud ass waking him up.”

Seokmin raised an eyebrow as he sat next to Jun, looking at the human again. “You gave it a name?”

“I didn’t give ‘it’ a name. When he woke up, he told me his name was Minghao.” Jun sighed, glaring at Seokmin out of the corner of his eye, “You didn’t tell anyone?”

“That the human Joshua attacked is your mate? Hell no.”

Jun sighed in relief, looking at Minghao’s sleeping form and nodding slightly before looking back to Seokmin beside him, finally turning his body away from the cot. “I need help.”

“With?”

“Telling him.”

“You haven’t told him yet?!”

Jun shushed him as his voice rose, drawing his hand across his neck in warning before pointing back at Minghao. “Still sleeping, Seokmin. Keep your voice down.”

Seokmin gestured exageratedly towards the cot without looking at it. “How else am I supposed to react? This is your fucking mate! What did you two even talk about when he woke up?”

Jun shrugged helplessly, panic from Seokmin’s reaction seeping into his voice. “I don’t know! He fell back asleep after I told him my name!”

Sighing, Seokmin fell back into his chair, running a hand through his hair. “You have to just tell him the truth.”

“Yeah, that’s a good fucking idea.” Jun rolled his eyes as he spoke, crossing his arms defensively across his chest. “‘Hey, sorry you were fucking mauled by my friend who just happens to be a fucking cat monster healer, and oh, by the way, you're in the middle of a fucking werewolf pack with real live, legit werewolves. Also, guess what? You’re my fucking soulmate so please don’t run away screaming and live here with me who just so happens to be a fucking werewolf.’”

There was rustling on the bed, and they both looked towards it. Minghao was sitting up on the bed, his hand clutching his side where the bandages were tinged red, his eyes wide in fear as he looked at the both of them. Seokmin looked between his friend and the human, watched the pain and fear in Jun’s eyes at Minghao’s reaction. He stood, moving slow to not make Minghao any more scared than he currently was, which didn’t exactly work as planned as MInghao’s eyes widened and his breath quickened.

“I’ll leave you two alone, Jun-hyung. I’ll… be back later for the documents.”

Jun didn’t seem to hear him, and Seokmin took the opportunity to back out and close the door softly. He finally exhaled the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and pressed his palm against his anxious heart. There were no sounds from the room yet, but even being in the proximity of the pair brought him too much anxiety. He sighed, looking over his shoulder at the wood door. 

Sorry, hyung. This is something you’re gonna have to do on your own.


	3. A Heartbreaking Day

Time - 1:24 P.M.

Mingyu stayed with Wonwoo until late yesterday, leaving just before Wonwoo fell asleep at night. Mingyu had told him that he was a member of his pack’s council, and Wonwoo scolded him for skipping his work to keep him company, but inside he felt very warm at the thought that he’d been sacrificing so much to spend time with a wolf like him. He was even taking care of him to some extent; he brought him food so Wonwoo wouldn’t have to hunt, and personally showed him where the bathing and drinking holes were. Wonwoo appreciated the help, because soon after their initial meeting, he noticed he’d strained his paw slightly from all his running in his journey, and though he never told Mingyu, he seemed to notice and care for him nonetheless. It caused strange feelings to grow in Wonwoo's chest, and strange doubts.

Why did he care so much about a wolf he’d just met? He found himself asking the question several times that day. Sometimes it would spring into his mind when he admired Mingyu’s smile, or when their arms brushed. Did he have a right to care so much about the precious wolf he’d come to like so much? He knew he’d imprinted on him, he knew the second it happened, but no matter how much he wished it, he didn’t even want to imagine his life without him again.

When Mingyu finally showed up past noon, he smiled brightly once transforming into his bipedal form like nothing had happened, but Wonwoo could feel the shift.

He sat up from where he’d been nursing his ankle, already in human form since it was easier to nurse the pain than clambering in wolf form, and looked at Mingyu seriously. “What happened?”

Mingyu laughed, brushing off the question and waving a hand. “Sorry, I was late, I woke up super late-”

“Cut it, Mingyu,” Wonwoo spoke with fear in his voice, though it somehow managed to stay steady, “Why are you late?”

Silence filled the clearing, save the crickets and birds chirping around the, Mingyu sighed, his face falling into a guilty smile. “Don’t worry, they haven’t found out about you.” Wonwoo gave him a look, and he sighed and continued, falling unceremoniously onto the grass in front of the black haired wolf. “They just scolded me for being absent at such a crucial time in the pack, and they told me that I shouldn't be leaving the main area of the pack because its dangerous.”

“They aren’t wrong, you know?” Wonwoo pursed his lips at Mingyu seriously. “It is dangerous to keep coming out here with me.”

“But what about you? You’re out here in danger constantly.” Mingyu looked so sincere in his words it caught Wonwoo off guard.

Wonwoo looked at him curiously, luckily hiding how fast his heart was racing. “Why do you care what happens to me? You could seriously get in trouble with your pack.”

“And you could die out here. How is that fair?”

Wonwoo’s heart was racing in his chest, and he couldn’t help his body fidgeting slightly, the words becoming hard to push out. “And why do you care if I die, Mingyu?”

“Because I-” He stopped, his mouth half open, stuck on a word he couldn’t say. He sighed, standing up from the ground, Wonwoo following the action and standing as well, ignoring the pain the pressure brought his ankle. “Let’s not talk about this, Woo-”

“And why not? I want to know why you’re coming out here if it could cost you your job on the council. Why are you sacrificing this shit?” He took a step forward, but his bad ankle gave, and he fell to the ground.

Or did he?

His eyes were tightly closed in fear of the impact, but he could feel an arm under his side, his cheek brushing the grass but not surrounded by it. He also felt something against his chest, and it was breathing too. Slowly, Wonwoo opened his eyes and made eye contact with Mingyu, all of a sudden realizing how close their bodies were, their chests together and their legs tangled. His breathing stopped, and MIngyu lifted a free hand to brush the blank bangs out of Wonwoo’s eyes. He mumbled, his voice lost somewhere in his throat. “Thanks…”

“Are you okay?”

Wonwoo nodded slightly, his heart rate increasing. The excitement was over, but neither of them made a move to leave the position, but he feared if he stayed that way much longer, he might really die.

“Because it’s you.”

Wonwoo blinked at him, confused and embarrassed. “W-What?”

“The answer to your question. Why I’m sacrificing my position. It’s because it’s you.”

Wow, that's embarrassing. Wonwoo wanted to hide his face, but found his arms trapped by either Mingyu’s body or the ground beneath them. He cleared his throat laughing awkwardly to diffuse the situation. “What’s with the weird answer… What do I have to do with that? Nothing, nothing at all-”

“I like you.”

The words punched a hole through Wonwoo’s facade, and he coughed wildly in surprise, hiding his face in Mingyu’s chest as it was all he could do at the moment, though he immediately regretted it. He managed to speak between his coughs, but he found his cheeks feeling incredibly hot. “Since.. When?”

“Yesterday, when we were fighting.” Mingyu’s voice seemed so steady, but waves of nervousness radiated off of him as he confessed. “When I looked at you, I could feel that you were a good person, and I could feel your sadness. When you apologized, it proved my thoughts. And I imprinted.” Wonwoo’s heart thudded in his throat, and he was sure it was audible from miles away. If Mingyu noticed, he didn’t say anything. Wonwoo felt a hesitant hand place itself on the back of his head, and Mingyu continued. “I thought you might’ve felt the same…”

Wonwoo shook his head, pulling away and rolling over on the grass, hiding his face in the green blades. He placed his palms on the ground and tried to calm himself with the feel of the forest around him. “This is just a dream, this is not happening, this is just a dream, Wonwoo, wake up.”

He didn’t wake up.

He looked over to Mingyu, noticed he was staring at him like a kicked puppy, and scrambled into a sitting position, keeping his face turned away from Mingyu. “Is this real? You’re not fucking with me?”

Mingyu shook his head before realizing Wonwoo wasn’t looking at him. “Never.”

“And you’re serious?”

“Yes.”

Silence. “... seriously?”

“Yes.”

Wonwoo sat for a minute, trying to figure out his heart but getting nowhere. Why was it so hard to say he imprinted too? He couldn’t even force the words out, hell, he could barely breathe. Thank God Mingyu was patient enough to wait for him.

Was that really lucky, though?

Hesitantly, Wonwoo looked up to Mingyu once more, the sadness on Mingyu’s face mixing with his hope and fear. Though he was still terrified of everything, his heart soared just thinking about the fact that Mingyu had imprinted on him too. Didn’t that technically make them mates already? If they both imprinted on eachother? He exhaled and sucked in his lower lip between his teeth, biting his lip out of nervousness.

Mingyu leaned forward slightly, looking at Wonwoo with hope shining in his eyes. “If you don’t feel the same, don’t feel inclined to accept me.”

“It’s not that, Mingyu…” Wonwoo ran a hand through his hair awkwardly, wishing he could both run away from this situation and run into Mingyu’s arms. “I’m just really awkward.” Mingyu nodded, smiling since he already knew. Wonwoo continued, “and that means I don’t know how to express my feelings.”

He looked at Mingyu, trying to convey his intentions indirectly, but Mingyu’s clueless face seemed to mean it hadn’t worked. Wonwoo kept looking at him, speaking slowly. “So I have a really hard time,” He paused, waiting for it to click for Mingyu, but it didn’t work again, “saying that I like someone.”

Mingyu smiled softly, leaning back to a proper sitting position. “So you do like me, right?”

Wonwoo blushed profusely, looking away into the forest to avoid eye contact with MIngyu. “When did I ever say that?”

“You didn’t have to.” He felt Mingyu crawling up behind him, could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke. Wonwoo transformed and made to bound away but was tackled almost instantly by Mingyu’s bigger wolf form. They rolled a few paces before Mingyu pinned Wonwoo’s wolf form to the ground, paws on either side of his chest so Wonwoo had to pull his own paws up under his snout. They looked at each other for a short while, but Mingyu lent down and licked Wonwoo’s nose softly. They de-transformed simultaneously, and Wonwoo glared playfully up at Mingyu, blush painting his cheeks in his embarrassment.

“You suck.”

Mingyu laughed, smiling down at Wonwoo beneath him. He leaned down, similar to before, but this time, he didn’t kiss Wonwoo at all. He just looked at him so full of hope, speaking softly. “Will you be my mate?”

Wonwoo pressed his lips together, his blush growing at the question. He hit Mingyu’s chest, trying to ease himself. “What kind of question is that? You know that's not how it works...” He looked back at Mingyu’s face, sighing in defeat at the cuteness on his face. “Yes, damnit. Yes, I’ll be your damn mate.”

Mingyu smiled happily down at him, and Wonwoo couldn’t help the smile that grew on his face, his heart swelling as he looked at his mate. He hid his face in Mingyu’s chest, laughing in response to Mingyu’s loud laugh of happiness, Mingyu’s long arms wrapping around him and pinning them against each other.

They laid like that for several minutes, not saying much and just enjoying being in each other’s arms. Eventually, Wonwoo had to pull away, and he sat up on the grass, smiling fondly at Mingyu laying on the grass beside him and smiling brightly up at him. Mingyu bit his lip, his smile still tugging on the corners of his mouth even as he spoke. “So will you come live with me in my pack now?”

Wonwoo sighed and laid on his stomach on the grass beside Mingyu’s body, propping his upper body up on his elbows. “Do I have much of a choice? I had nowhere to go after leaving the old pack anyway.” He paused, looking at Mingyu with a raised eyebrow. “Will I even be allowed to join your pack?”

“You will be when they know you’re my mate.” Mingyu flashed him another bright smile, placing his hands behind his head as he laid more comfortably. “They’ll have to deal with it if they don’t like it, cause there’s no way I’m leaving you.”

Time - 1:35 P.M.

The tension was palpable in the room, making gooseflesh raise on Seungkwan’s arms as he watched Vernon pack his belongings. Heavy sadness rested in his heart, but he resisted the urge to cry. “Why are you the one leaving?”

Hansol sighed as he folded another shirt, stuffing it into his sack and looking at Seungkwan sadly. “Council’s orders, Boo. I can’t go against them.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit.” Seungkwan walked over to where Hansol stood, looking up at him with eyes full of anger and fear. “I know you gave yourself up, Chan told me.”

He watched as Hansol’s movements paused before they began moving again, his movements slower and more unsure. He sighed before closing a drawer. “I couldn’t let Joshua take the fall for my stupid dare.”

“It was his fault anyway-” His words cut off when Hansol looked at him sharply, and he closed his mouth tightly. He watched Hansol continue packing, going through two more drawers before he spoke again, his head bowed and his voice small. “I just don’t want you to leave.”

He couldn't see Hansol, but he could feel the emotions in him change. He could physically feel Hansol’s stress decrease when he looked at him, so when Hansol’s arms wrapped around him, he laid his head against his chest. Hansol’s fingers ran through his hair, his heart conflicted. “Seungkwan, it’ll be okay. You won’t even notice I’m gone.”

“Bullshit.” Seungkwan looped his arms around Vernon’s waist and buried his face into his best friend’s chest. “We live together, we eat together, we sit together at the council table, we sleep in the same damn bed. How can I not notice you’re gone?”

Hansol didn’t say anything more, he just continued stroking Seungkwan’s hair, and that somehow made Seungkwan feel better than if he’d kept trying to reassure him. He pulled away after a minute, wiping his eyes and nose to prevent any tears from falling. He sniffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest and looking at Hansol’s half packed bag on the bed. Hansol walked back over to it, emptying his nightstand into the sack and shaking it to settle the stuff.

“Where will you go?”

Hansol sighed, head falling back as he looked up towards the ceiling. “Somewhere over by the forest edge.”

Seungkwan’s head sprang up, looking at him with wide eyes. “You’re going where?!”

He sighed again, but Seungkwan cut him off before he could get a word out. “No, you cannot be going to the forest edge. It’s too dangerous, it’s too close to the city, they wouldn’t do that to you-“

“Yes, Seungkwan, they would. And they did. I broke the rules, a human got hurt because of me. I deserve maximum punishment.”

“But it’s not even your fault!” Seungkwan was exasperated, his blood pressure rising in his emotions and causing his eyes to shift partially. “You made a bet, yes. Who cares?! Joshua is the one who agreed, Joshua was the one who hurt that human, Joshua is the one who deserves this punishment! Not you! You need to stay here… with me.”

Hansol turned to him sadly, sighing and opening his arms for Seungkwan. He walked towards him and collapsed against him, pushing Hansol back onto the bed in the process. "Seungkwanie.. You can’t be so selfish right now.”

“I don’t know how I’ll even live without you, Vernonie.” He buried his face as far as he could into Hansol’s neck, the sadness in his heart becoming unbearable. “I don’t know why you’re leaving me.”

He felt Hansol’s hand brush through his hair, his chest moving up and down beneath him as he breathed. “If it had been any other way, I wouldn’t be.”

Time - 1:47 P.M.

It was a very public sending off. Hansol could feel the quiet eyes of the other pack members burning holes into his skull as he made his way to the pack entrance with Seokmin at his side. No one except for the council knew exactly what had happened last night, just that a human had been attacked by someone on the high council. When whispers fluttered through his ears calling him a murderer, Hansol's grip on his bag tightened until his knuckles turned white, his head hanging a little lower. Seokmin attempted to comfort him by rubbing a hand between his shoulder blades, but somehow, Hansol felt undeserving of the affection.

He raised his head to see Chan, Jihoon, and Soonyoung next to the entrance, and he exhaled as he approached them, a smile on his lips tinged with sadness, "I wish I knew what to say as goodbye."

It elicited a smile out of the awkward trio, and he felt relieved. Soonyoung was the first to speak, his voice less than collected, "Seungkwan not coming to see you off?"

Hansol shook his head, smile dimming ever so slightly, "Nah, we said our goodbyes already. You know he doesn't like people seeing him cry." Actually, Seungkwan barely let Hansol see him cry, but he could tell Seungkwan was probably crying in their room right now. No proper goodbye could dull the truth of the situation. "Where's everyone else?"

Jihoon scoffed and rolled his eyes, ignoring the bystanders and onlookers completely, "Seungcheol and Jeonghan are still trying to talk to Shua, Mingyu's run off somewhere, and Jun is locked up in his room for some reason."

Beside them, Seokmin tensed, but no one paid close enough attention to notice.

In silence, Hansol looked back to the rest of the pack that he would never see again. "I'll miss it. Out of every place in the forest, this is the one that feels like home."

For the first time, Chan spoke, his eyes clouded with emotions he wouldn't quite let out, "You can't die, y'know. You're going by the forest edge, you can't get caught by some humans or get stuck in a trap."

Everyone laughed softly at Chan's words, lightening the mood slightly, and Hansol ruffled Chan's hair playfully. "I'll miss you, too, Channie."

It was quiet after, even the whispers of the onlookers ceased to run through Hansol's mind. A sense of peace consumed his being as he gave one final sweep over the compound. He was resigned to this fate; anyone could see that. After a few seconds, he faced Seokmin with a soft smile. "Tell everyone goodbye for me. I hope the human survives."

Before anyone could say anything more, Hansol transformed into his brown wolf. He bowed his head toward Jihoon and Soonyoung before taking his bag between his teeth and immediately darting away.

Time - 3:04 P.M.

Mingyu called a council meeting as soon as he’d managed to smuggle Wonwoo inside the gates. A few minutes later, the remaining council members were situated around the table, four noticeably empty chairs sticking out to everyone more than the others. Seungcheol sat at the head, opposite Mingyu who stood at the end of the table, visibly nervous but excited. Throughout that morning, everyone had gotten used to his happier mood, and they assumed this meeting was going to be related to where he’d been and why his cheerful disposition had seemingly doubled.

He cleared his throat and smiled at his fellow council members before speaking. “Sorry to call everyone so suddenly, but I have an important announcement I need your approval on.”

He watched them look among themselves, confused as to why their puppy alpha Mingyu was suddenly being so formal. Suengcheol looked at him to continue, and Mingyu began again, the smile on his face widening ever so slightly. “The reason I’ve been so busy lately, and the reason for this meeting, is… I found my mate.”

The room filled with cheers, those who had already found their mates congratulating him. Soonyoung especially stood and clapped him on the back, smiling brightly at him. “Congrats, man. I remember when Jihoon accepted my imprintation. He was so angry-” Sonnyoung yelped as Jihoon hit the back of his head, pouting down at him as Jihoon guided him back to his seat, sitting in his own seat next to Soonyoung after flashing Mingyu a reassuring smile.

Of course, questions began getting thrown at Mingyu, but they soon stopped when Seungcheol raised a hand for silence. He turned to Mingyu, raising an eyebrow. “We’re very happy for you, Gyu, but why does this warrant a council meeting?”

Mingyu chuckled awkwardly, smiling uncomfortably at the sentence. “You guys would understand if you met him.” He walked over to the front of the room, opening the main door and reaching out of view, leading in a hesitant new face. Mingyu led his apparent mate up to the table where he’d been standing previously, intertwining their fingers together and looking at the group in front of him with a small smile. “This is Wonwoo, my mate.”

Everyone was shocked to say the least. They looked amongst each other, whispering and communicating the same things: who was he? Was he even a part of our pack? How did they meet?

“Hey everyone, I’ll explain if you let me talk!” Slowly, the conversation died down until there was only awkward silence reverberating in the room. MIngyu looked at Wonwoo, his thumb gently rubbing against his hand as they shared a soft glance. “I found him at the edge of the territory the night of the attack. He was injured, so I helped him get better. That’s where I’ve been.” He lifted their intertwined hands as a gesture, “We imprinted on each other, and now we’re mates. I hope you’ll be able to accept him.”

Everyone looked to Seungcheol for the answer, but he looked just as conflicted as everyone else felt. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “If you’re already mates, there’s not much choice-”

“No, there is.” The council looked to Soonyoung, who was now glaring at Seungcheol. “He is an outsider, and outsider’s are not allowed in our pack.”

Seungcheol looked at him firmly, “Soonyoung-”

“No, I won’t allow it.” He stood and turned his attention to Wonwoo, his eyes harsh on the new pup. “You, what pack are you from? Why did they send you here?”

Wonwoo blinked at him in confusion, looking back at Mingyu before answering. “I don’t have a pack, I left it.”

“Bullshit.” Jihoon tugged on his sleeve to try and get him to calm down, but Soonyoung brushed him off, pointing at Wonwoo threateningly. “I don’t give a damn if you’re Mingyu’s mate, I don’t care if they let you stay, but you are not welcome in my pack.”

With that, Soonyoung stormed out of the room, already aware he wouldn’t be agreed with. Jihoon bowed apologetically to Seungcheol, receiving a wave of dismissal before hurrying out of the room after his mate. Wonwoo looked down at his feet, and Mingyu wrapped his arm around his shoulders, tucking Wonwoo’s head into the crook of his neck and squeezing his hand tightly. The other council members looked at them in pity, knowing Soonyoung’s opinion would be shared amongst the other wolves.

Jeonghan waited until he received a nod from Seungcheol before he stood, smiling slightly at Wonwoo despite the situation. “He can be pretty oblivious, don’t worry too much about him. We’re glad to have you, Wonwoo.”

Wonwoo looked among the remaining six council members, eyebrows slightly furrowed and eyes wide. “You… You’re going to let me stay?”

Attention turned to Seokmin who'd scoffed, gesturing around the table with a disbelieving look. “You are talking to a room full of mates; you think any of us are stupid enough to deny you a free pass?”

When Wonwoo’s eyes flicked to the door Soonyoung had stormed out of, and everyone laughed at the subtlety. Slowly, he joined in, and Mingyu’s arm fell to his waist, holding him close. Seokmin gagged, and the mood grew lighter with every passing second, especially when Mingyu pulled Wonwoo into a suffocating hug and stuck his tongue out at him. Wonwoo laughed into Mingyu’s chest, his muffled laughter getting drowned by everyone else’s.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad starting over.

Time - 3:16 P.M.

“Soonyoung, it’s really not that serious.”

Jihoon had followed him to their room, trying to talk him into dropping his opinion about Wonwoo, but to no avail. Soonyoung pulled his shirt over his head, flinging it across the room haphazardly and turning his eyes onto Jihoon for the first time since they’d left the council room, his eyes blazing. “This pack has already let in a human inside the walls, and now we’re not just gonna let in a wolf from another pack, but a fucking deserter?”

He watched as Jihoon crossed his arms across his chest, his expression disapproving and disbelieving. “Now you have a problem with that? I thought you were over this, Soonyoung.”

“I am over it, there was no way around that situation anyway. But Mingyu mating with and inviting in a complete outsider like that without verifying his story?” Soonyoung scoffed, gesturing in the direction of the council room as he spoke. “Wonwoo could be and probably is lying about his past, and I am willing to bet that story about him ‘leaving’ his pack is complete bullshit, too.”

Jihoon shook his head before looking back at Soonyoung, his eyes hard on his mate. “I get you’re worried about the pack, but what’s done is done: they’re already mates, and there’s nothing we can do about it.” Soonyoung was silent, his eyes cast away and his expression unreadable. Jihoon sighed, stepping forward and putting a hand on Soonyoung’s arm. “You won’t make them seperate, will you?”

He waited a few seconds for a response, but Soonyoung just stepped away from his touch. He walked several steps toward the door, looking at Jihoon over his shoulder. “Just because he’s staying doesn’t mean I’m accepting him. I’ll find out the truth, whatever I have to do.”  
Jihoon opened his mouth to protest, but Soonyoung was already walking away. He called after him, “Hey, where are you going?”

“Hunting.”

He didn’t say anything more, and Soonyoung left without another word. Jihoon sighed, running a hand through his black hair. Soonyoung had always been impulsive and overprotective, but this paranoia was something more. Jihoon knew that Soonyoung was aware of the consequences of being away from a mate; he had a fucking mate for gods sake, so his behavior was completely uncalled for. Jihoon could feel something was off with his mate, but if Soonyoung was going to act this way, it would be near impossible to find out why.

Time - 4:23 P.M.

Seungkwan had decided he wouldn’t be able to see Hansol out like he wanted to if he wanted to save face in the pack. This estimate turned out to be correct as tears began streaming down his face the second he felt Hansol leave the village. He could physically feel his other half getting further and further away as the hours passed, leaving him feeling emptier and emptier. By the time evening fell, he felt such an unusual heavy weight on his chest that he’d never felt before. Sure, he and Hansol had been apart before (that came with similar sadness, but who wouldn’t be sad when you’re away from your best friend?), but something about the finality and the fear he felt for Hansol made the sadness grow increasingly.

Seungkwan sat on the bed with his legs crossed, finger lightly tracing along the blankets as he dealt with the boredom in his stomach. At this time, he and Hansol would usually go bathing in the river with everyone and play in the water. But now he didn’t have anyone to play with. Sure, he could go out with Chan or even Jihoon, but the idea of being surrounded by people seemed so repelling if it wasn’t the person he wanted.

Someone knocked on his door, and he lifted his head. His throat was thick when he answered but he managed to do so nonetheless. “Come in.”

The door creaked open, and he saw Chan’s head poke around the corner. He smiled, like he couldn’t understand Seungkwan’s mental state. “Hyung, do you want to come with me to the river? I don’t want to go by myself.”

The hope in his eyes made Seungkwan smile, albeit sadly, before shaking his head. “Sorry, Chan, I don’t really feel like going out tonight. Maybe you can ask Soonyoung if he’ll go with you.”

Chan frowned softly at him, walking inside the room and closing the door behind him. Seungkwan sighed internally as he just wanted to be alone, but he didn’t have the heart to tell him no. It got debatable when Chan walked up to the bed and sat on Hansol’s side. Seungkwan had to resist his initial urge to growl. “You still upset about Hansol?”

Seungkwan sighed, running a hand down his face to suppress his annoyance at his dongsaeng. “No, Chan, I’m not still upset that my best friend has been exiled from his pack because of a dumb mistake only a few hours ago and I’ll never see him again.”

Through his fingers, he could see Chan’s facial expression morph into a confused one, leaning more toward him as he spoke. “So.. you are still upset?”

“Yes, Chan, for the love of god!” Seungkwan groaned exasperatedly, falling back onto the bed with his arms spread out dramatically. “I feel like half of myself is gone and I don’t even want to live anymore! I miss him so much and my chest is heavy all the time, it won’t go away!”

He could feel Chan get off the bed and, thankfully, leave the room, closing the door behind him for once. Now alone after his outburst, Seungkwan couldn’t help the tears that leaked from his eyes. Slowly, he curled himself into fetal position, hugging his arms close to himself as if to make him feel safe enough to let his emotions out. Hansol always hugged him when he cried.. Maybe it would feel the same.

It didn’t. It made him feel lonelier.

Time - 8:45 P.M.

"I'm worried about him."

Seungcheol sighed softly, running his hand through his mate's blond hair. Jeonghan's head was in his lap, their eldest pups, Nong-Bi and Sook-Ja, playing around the room while the youngest of the litter, Gi-Tae, stumbling around on the bed. Seungcheol could feel the stress coming off of Jeonghan in waves, washing over him heavily. Being fated mates allowed them greater insight into each other's feelings and thoughts, not that they could read them, but rather could feel them.

"Me too."

It was quiet between them, even if the room was anything but. Gi-Tae attempted to jump off the bed to try and run towards his siblings but ended up tripping and tumbling on the floor much to his littermates' amusement. Jeonghan's eyes followed his pups, ever the protective omega he was, and slowly, Seungcheol felt the nerves ease, warmed at the sight of their children.

Without warning, Jeonghan turned over to look up at Seungcheol, teeth working nervously against his bottom lip, "Can you go check on him? I'm scared he's gonna do something to himself, and he wouldn't talk to me earlier."

The alpha nodded without hesitation, his hand rubbing Jeonghan's bicep in an attempt to comort him. "I will in a bit, okay? We don't want to push him too much."

Jeonghan nodded softly, eyes falling vacantly towards Seungcheol's stomach. The worry he felt was palpable, and Seungcheol felt he needed to make his mate smile before he left. A small, devious smile grew on his lips, and he let his hand fall to Jeonghan's sides. Ignoring the warning look Jeonghan gave him, he tickled his side and made him jolt.

"Seungcheol, no-"

He burst out laughing, his body writhing as he tried to curl away from the touches. Seungcheol laughed, continuing to tickle him for a few more seconds before letting him go. He leaned down at kissed Jeonghan's forehead, gently rubbing his stomach as he gazed at him thoughtfully. Jeonghan glared playfully at him, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath, and Seungcheol smiled widely. "You love me."

"No I don't, and get your hand off my stomach," Jeonghan pulled away, rolling on his front and glaring at Seungcheol from the side, "You know I don't like it."

"Too bad," Seungcheol adjusted himself, laying beside his mate and putting a hand around the small of his back. His mate was somewhat insecure about his stomach since giving birth, but Seungcheol didn't care, "You're my mate, and I love every part of you."

Time - 9:27

Seungcheol walked in the direction of the healing hut, nodding his head at the few pack members he passed. The healers have always lived in a house adjacent to the main healing hut, ever since the cat shifters first joined his pack. Joshua had been his close friend practically since birth, and over the past year, Jeonghan had grown even closer to the healer apprentice than anyone could have anticipated. Seungcheol knew how much Jeonghan was affected by Joshua's darkened mental state, perhaps even more so than himself who had been Joshua's friend his whole life.

Approaching his destination, he softly knocked on the door, "Shua?"

There was silence as his response, and he raised an eyebrow. Seungcheol knocked again, worry starting to form in his chest. Jeonghan's concerns from earlier entered his mind, and he opened the door quietly. It was dark inside, the healer probably next door tending to the human, but eerily quiet. He stepped inside, making his way to where Joshua's bed was but not finding him in the blankets. 

A sinking feeling appeared in his chest, eyes scanning the room for any sign of life. An open book sat on the dresser drawer, a quick scrawl of writing visible from where Seungcheol stood. Quickly, he approached it and scanned the note, most of it illegible save a few words: “sorry,” “city,” and “goodbye.”

His heart dropped, and he ran out of the room in a hurry. Joshua was gone.

Time - 11:24 P.M.

Minghao was confused, and even more so conflicted. Though there had been myths about the supposed werewolves that lived in the forest, everyone widely assumed they were just that: myths, stories you tell children to keep them in line, fodder for college hazing rituals, but that’s all they were. When he’d entered the forest, it had nothing to do with the wolves at all. He was just looking for some inspiration for a project: a flower, or maybe a small rodent, to snap a picture of. He got lost, but he hadn’t been terribly concerned about it, not even when night fell, because his phone never lost service. But that was before-

He didn’t remember much from the attack. He remembered being tackled, and screaming as his body was torn into. The pain blinded him for the most part, but after the panther left him, he could swear an angel had appeared in front of him. Minghao couldn’t differentiate his facial expressions at the time, but judging by the way his body was begging to sleep, he assumed the beautiful angel was taking him to the afterlife. So, he let himself relax, slip away from consciousness, allowing his body to pull toward the angel the way it begged to. How could he know that when he woke up, the angel would be sitting beside him, writing away in a dated little journal? Jun was his name, and he had the most innocent, bright smile. Was he really not an angel? He’d saved his life, after all. And, funnily enough, the pull Minghao had felt before was still there. Maybe he had a small crush on the pretty boy that saved his life? It was possible.

Then he had to go and hear the truth.

Werewolves were real, and Jun was one. In fact, the very “village” he was in the middle of was a werewolf pack. And, apparently, Jun was his soulmate now too? No, that was too much. He had to get out of here, but he could barely move his limbs without moaning in pain. Were they going to eat him? Was that what this was? Were they making sure he didn’t die before some ritualistic sacrifice they were planning?

But Jun said he was his soulmate…

MInghao hadn’t seen the angel since he’d left him. Jun didn’t say anything as he left, he just looked incredibly sad. Minghao could understand him not telling him the truth immediately, with the truth being what it was, but at the time, he was really afraid. Now, as he looked back, he almost missed the angel.

He laid there on the cot, staring at the ceiling. A knock sounded at the door, and he thought it was Jun checking on him again, but when the door opened, an older woman walked in. He tried to sit up before exclaiming in pain, breathing heavily as he laid back against the cot.

“My, Juni didn’t tell me you were awake.”

Minghao opened an eye at the woman, but she was busy organizing the medicine, her back to him. He spoke with his voice shaky, strained and breathless from the pain. “Are you one of them too? The werewolves?”

She paused for a second before continuing, her voice full of humor. “Oh, I see he told you that part too. What else did he say?”

“That… that we’re soulmates.”

She looked over her shoulder at him before turning to face him completely, sitting in the chair that had been vacant since Jun had left. “So he knew about that, hm?”

Minghao raised an eyebrow at her, and she began changing his dressings. He wasn’t exactly keen on having a werewolf nurse him back to health, but he supposed someone had to have properly nursed him after the attack. It hurt to talk, so he stayed silent and let her work.

She knew he had questions, he could tell by the look she gave him. She checked his wounds and stuffed them with herbs again, the smell of green filling the room. “No, I am not a werewolf. Niether is my son, the one that attacked you. We are a different bread of shifters more similar to cats. The wolves give us protection, and we give them our healing." She began wrapping the white strings around him, Minghao watching closely. "We do share a system of beliefs, and fated mates, or soulmates, is one of the most popularized. Werewolves mate for life, but it is our belief that for everyone, there is your perfect half you are fated to mate with. They don’t happen very often. In fact, our pack leader and his fated mate were the first case I’d ever seen, and my mother before me only saw a few cases herself. You are the second, and all within the same year.” She chuckled, cutting the end of the bandage and finishing the knot. She sat back and began grinding something in a stone bowl, the sound echoing slightly, before continuing, “You are under no obligation to stay, so I won’t tell you what happens when someone is separated or rejected from their fated mate, not unless you are curious.”

Minghao gulped, looking at her seriously, “It doesn’t make sense that being separated would even have any effect except emotionally.”

“Since you are a human, I can’t say how it will affect you.” She looked up at Minghao from her grinding, her hand not stopping. “But for Jun, he will feel like he is missing half of himself, and he will be in great pain. Jeonghan described the pain for the records, you can ask Jun about it when he comes to see you later.”

Surprised, MInghao jolted up, “He’s coming to see me later?!” The pain caught up to him, and he gasped, clutching at his side. She gently pushed him down to the cot again, and he panted as he spoke. “Why is he coming to see me?”

She looked at him with an unimpressed, disbelieving look only a mother knew how to give. “He wants to apologize for what happened. He wants to talk things over with you. He’s been knocking himself down ever since you kicked him out.” Her hand paused on the pestle, an eyebrow raising towards the human. “You’ll let him, won’t you?”

Minghao paused, his eyes drifting down to the thin cloth covering his legs and waist as he did so. Could the pain really be as bad she made it out to be? Thinking back to Jun’s pretty face when he’d rescued him, to the happiness on his face when he’d awoken, then to the pain and fear, the anguish on his face when Minghao had learned the truth. Does he really want to leave that horrible expression on such a pretty face?

No. No, he did not.

He sighed internally, his heart heavy, and nodded at the women’s question. Out of the corner of his eye, Minghao saw a smile spread across her face as she looked back down to her mortar and continued grinding the medicine. Once it was completed, she spooned the herbs to MInghao, and a few minutes later, the pain wasn’t as overwhelming.

She stood to make her leave, and MInghao reached for her sleeve. Pausing, she looked back at him with a soft smile. “Anything you need me to do for you before I leave?”

“Could…” MInghao’s voice drifted off in his insecurity, and he cleared his throat before continuing, “Could you send Jun back in when you get the chance?”

He watched her look towards the darkened window, her expression serious as she thought earnestly about something. Just as Minghao grew worried she’d deny his request, she looked back at him and nodded, her affectionate smile on her lips once again. “You’re lucky he’s still awake. It’s pretty late, even by our standards.”

Minghao didn’t question how she knew he was still awake, he just thanked her as she left the room. He thought he wouldn’t be able to see Jun for a while, but a timid knock sounded at the door not even a few minutes later. He wasn’t exactly sure what to say, and when he tried to speak, his voice got stuck in his throat. Luckily for him, Jun entered without any prompting, his movements slow and cautious. Minghao looked away from him when he entered, fixing his eyes on the far wall to avoid any unnecessary eye contact. He heard Jun sit in the chair beside the cot, but he did scoot the chair back a little as he sat. The mood was awkward, and the silence that spread through the room only made him feel worse.

Somehow, Minghao knew Jun wouldn’t speak first, and, somehow, he knew he wouldn’t as to not make Minghao anymore pressured or uncomfortable. He almost laughed that he possessed this knowledge, and he almost laughed again as he realized it was probably because of that whole “soulmate” thing. If that was even a thing.

“Er…” He started before he could even think of what he wanted to say, but Jun’s head shot up once the sound left his lips, and there was no turning back. Minghao readjusted himself on the cot, not enough to set off a lot of pain but enough to make him feel slightly more comfortable. “How… did you know we were soulmates?”

Jun bit his lip, looking away slightly and exhaling, albeit strangely. “Right… you’re a human. You can’t feel it.” He sat up straighter in his chair as he fumbled for an answer. Minghao waited expectantly, but he couldn’t imagine how this could be explained in a rational manner.  
After a few minutes, Jun held out his hand, and Minghao looked at it, his eyes darting between the palm in front of him and Jun’s nervous face. He raised an eyebrow, and Jun gestured to his hand. “Grab my hand.”

Minghao looked at him in disbelief, but as nervous as Jun looked, he seemed pretty sure in this decision. Hesitantly, Minghao reached forward and clasped Jun’s hand in his own, Jun responding and holding his hand as well. As soon as their skin touched, Minghao felt the happiness and electricity that was common with a crush, and he instantly felt somewhat flustered, though, as he looked up to Jun, he didn’t feel nearly as bad as Jun looked. Blush covered his cheeks, and even his hand seemed to grow hotter the longer their skin remained in contact.

Jun was the first to pull away, wiping his hand on his shirt and looking off to the side, his voice giving away his bashfulness. “That’s what I felt when I touched you after the attack, when I was trying to stop the bleeding. It’s... too strong to be an imprintation, and it’s almost exactly what the records describe finding your fated mate to feel like.”

If he was being honest, Minghao was only half listening to what Jun was saying. He was still staring at his trembling hand, where the lingering feelings of Jun’s skin felt burned into his skin. Attempting to dull the feeling even slightly, Minghao clenched his hand into a fist, but the feeling persisted. He couldn’t believe it, but it didn’t appear to be up for debate. He looked at Jun after a minute or so, his face burning brightly in curiosity. “How does it feel for you?”

He watched Jun blink as if he wasn’t expecting the question, but his genuine curiosity in the subject signaled that he wasn't afraid of it, and it seemed to relax Jun slightly. At least, he didn’t stutter when he answered. “It feels… like I’m being struck by lightning. Like… I can be completely comfortable. Like I’m whole.”

Jun’s voice got softer as he spoke, and his body relaxed as he confessed the truth behind these feelings. Minghao hated to ruin the mood, but a question was nagging him and weighing on his chest since the healer left. He leaned forward, his face serious. “And what about… when you aren’t with me?” Jun was silent at the question, and Minghao pushed further ahead, leaning closer. “The doctor told me there’s pain.”

Jun remained silent, waiting several seconds before slowly nodding. “Werewolves are… different… from you humans. When a wolf is away from its mate, be it hours or days, you feel… lost. Alone. Sometimes unwanted and unloved. Your heart feels like it’s been ripped out of your chest and it doesn’t come back until your mate does. But with fated mates…” Jun paused, his fingers idly playing with each other as he struggled to get the words out. Minghao still waited patiently until Jun was ready to continue. “But with fated mates, if you are away from your fated mate for too long, or they reject you… Your body starts to kill itself.”

Minghao jolted, his jaw dropping in shock. “That can’t be true- That doesn’t… that doesn’t even make sense!”

He watched as Jun looked away uncomfortably, and his hand clenched into a fist as he forced the words out. “It’s because you’ve found your other half, and now that your body knows what it’s like to be whole, just being a half isn’t enough.” Jun sighed, looking down to the cot, but Minghao noticed that his eyes were unfocused. “When our pack leader rejected his fated mate, Jeonghan suffered for days. He told me the pain… he told me the pain was so bad he couldn’t move, couldn’t even breathe because it felt like knives stabbed his lungs every time he did.” Minghao could see that his eyes were watering, and he felt his heart thump in his chest at his mate’s sensitivity. Nevertheless, Jun continued, albeit shakily, and a sort of pride rose in his chest. “The worst part… was that Hyung felt like it was all his fault. He wasn’t good enough to be wanted, he wasn’t attractive enough, he wasn’t enough and he would never be enough. He said,” Jun broke off his words, his heightening emotions making speaking more and more difficult, and clamped a hand over his mouth, his words being muffled henceforth. “He had hallucinations, horrible hallucinations, of Cheol rejecting him again and again, and the problem is, they didn’t just feel real: to Jeonghan, they were real.”

Jun began breaking down, his shoulders shaking from his withheld emotions, and Minghao knew instantly why he was being so emotional. Jun had guessed why Minghao was asking about this, had guessed that Minghao would leave now that he knew the truth, had guessed that he would do it even after knowing that he would be killing the mate he left behind.

He was afraid the same thing would happen to him.

To say his heart broke in his chest would be an understatement; Minghao’s heart shattered at the sight of Jun crying over him like that. As if it were a habit, he reflexively reached toward Jun and hugged him tightly, the angle awkward but he didn’t care. Despite the pain the movement brought him, the feeling of Jun in his arms soothed him and pushed him to do it in spite of the burning in his abdomen. He felt Jun’s hands grip shakily at his upper back, and he buried his face into Minghao’s bandaged chest, leaning his body heavily towards the injured human. Slowly, Minghao pulled the sobbing wolf on to the cot beside him, his hand reaching up and soothingly running his fingers through his hair as the wolf curled against him. It was strange; Minghao had only had a handful of partners in his life, and none of those relationships felt quite like this one. Not even a day of knowing Jun, and he already felt more comfortable in his presence than with anyone else. He wasn’t even scared about the wolves anymore, though he knew that would still take some getting used to. He guessed it was because he, technically, was supposed to be here with them anyway, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be a long adjustment period.

He knew these things, but Jun didn’t.

Minghao felt Jun begin to calm down in his embrace: his muscles slowly lost their tension, and his body sagged against his side, his head resting on his right pectoral. Luckily for them, Minghao’s main injuries were on the opposite side of his abdomen, and Jun leaning against him didn’t bring any pain. He struggled on whether he should say anything; he wanted to reassure Jun as efficiently as possible, but words felt so uncomfortable at this moment.  
Slowly, he began to speak against Jun’s hair, his tone still unsure but his resolve in his decision strong. “I know you’re scared I’m going to leave.” He felt Jun holding his breath as the words left his lips, but he just continued, his hand running down the taller’s back. “I know you’re scared of what’ll happen to you… but you don’t have to be afraid.”

Jun’s breath didn’t release, and Minghao couldn’t tell if it was from shock or fear. He hoped it was the former. He looked down at Jun’s form beside him, at his head laying on his chest, the brown strands of his hair tickling the tip of his nose. “I won’t do that to you.”

If the silence that followed was from relief or disbelief, Minghao couldn’t tell, but the longer it stretched out, the more uncomfortable he became. Several minutes had passed, but there was still no sign that his words had made any effect, and Jun still never replied. Minghao began to grow worried, but just as he was about to say something else, Jun moved in his position against him, sitting up and away from Minghao and not meeting his eyes. His head was turned so his profile was facing him, and Minghao looked at the conflicted expression upon his face. He was chewing on his bottom lip, and his brows were furrowed in his thought. Even as he spoke, he seemed lost in thought.

“Don’t let anything I’ve said change your decision. If you want to leave, go. You don’t have to stay because of me.”

That was an odd comment to Minghao, and he raised an eyebrow at him. He sat up a little straighter on the cot, leaning heavily on his left elbow. “Do you not want me to stay?”

“It’s not like that.” Jun shook his head, looking down at his hand pressed against the cot, his expression growing more dejected than Minghao had ever seen him and never wanted to see him again. “I want you to stay, but I want you to stay because you want to, not because you don’t want to hurt me.”

Minghao followed Jun’s gaze to his hand, watching Jun’s fingers play absentmindedly with the edge of the thin blanket, a small smile stretching across his lips at Jun’s selflessness. Even facing death, he wouldn’t force him to stay against his will. Minghao reached forward and placed his hand atop Jun’s, the fingers under his palm immediately halting their fiddling as he did so. “I don’t want to stay just because I don’t want to hurt you.” Jun tensed, but Minghao cut off his thoughts before he could get the wrong idea, “I want to stay because I want to learn more about you, Juni. I’m probably the only human that has ever met their soulmate, and I’m not about to leave him just because he happens to be a werewolf. That makes it even cooler, don’t you think?”

He looked back to Jun with a small, kind smile on his lips, and the other hesitantly met his eyes, fear shining brightly behind his irises, and somewhere mixed in, was a little bit of hope.


	4. Fourth

Time - 11:58 P.M.

He had never lied to Jihoon before, not about something like this. He wasn’t really hunting, not for rabbits or deer like the night that started everything, but for the truth. He paced around the clearing Mingyu had been assigned for the past week, digging his snout into the grass to sniff out the traces of Wonwoo’s scent. It was strong, which made sense considering he’d been staying here for the past several days. Soonyoung lifted his head and looked around, sniffing the air. There was a faint trail to the East, impossibly faint but it was something. Soonyoung racked his brain, thinking of all the packs that resided in that direction, all the possibilities of where Wonwoo could possibly be from if he decided to spill it. He looked at the sky before gazing in the direction of his pack, uncertain, but dashing in the direction of the faint scent trail. 

It took most of the night, but he finally reached the end of the trail, or rather, he reached where he could no longer go forward. Wonwoo’s faint scent ahead was mingled with a myriad of others, signaling the pack was close. But that wasn’t the biggest indicator.

Hiding from the bushes several meters away, Soonyoung noticed tall walls surrounding what he assumed to be the center of the pack, and large wolves stood on guard every ten or so yards. He transformed into his bipedal form and crouched back on his legs, his eyebrows furrowing as he surveyed the scene. If their goal was secrecy, why erect such visible walls? The wolves on guard looked feral, eyes especially sharp against the bushes around their line of sight and teeth almost constantly bared. How packs were run wasn’t something every pack agreed on, and as such, every pack had a different structure and hierarchy of power. If Soonyoung had to guess, he would say this pack was totalitarian, or something of that order. The smell had also been somewhat sour, like a heavy negativity one couldn’t shake. Thinking back, he recalled the same faint smell on Wonwoo, but otherwise, he’d come off as a much more tame guy with a much more pleasant smell. Maybe he was so used to the smells of their pack he’d taken the slight foreign, sour scent off Wonwoo has an indication of more negativity than was actually present? Whatever had caused his outburst before, it was nothing compared to the stench that filled his nostrils now. It was so heavy it almost made him gag, but he was careful to be quiet.

Seeing his old pack was enough to confirm to him that Wonwoo was a good guy, so he made to transform and get back as soon as he could. Unfortunately, his tail snagged on a bristle bush, and in pulling it out, the leaves rattles together in a cacophony of noise in the quiet night. Instantly, the wolves at the nearest gates pounced forward, and though Soonyoung tried to run, one managed to tackle him within yards. It wasn’t a long fight, but it was substantial in that the enemy wolf managed to get a few good scratches along Soonyoung’s silver side, and even a scratch along his snout, though neither were deep enough to cause any debilitating damage. Soonyoung managed to kick him off and get a headstart on his escape, deciding to weave through the trees in hopes of ditching them quicker. 

It didn’t work as well as he’d hoped. 

It was a good thing the pack was far away, otherwise it could lead to a war if they were able to trace him or Wonwoo back all the way. Just as a precaution, Soonyoung ran more southwest towards the city to lead them off his trail. It took well into dawn for him to be sure they were nowhere near him, and only then did he feel safe turning back north towards the pack. 

Time - 6:03 A.M.

It was much too early for a meeting of a handful of nocturnal beasts, but the members of the council still sat grumbling around the table, wiping their eyes and yawning widely. Jun was finally sitting at the table again, tired but serene, and Mingyu was back at his proper post, Wonwoo sitting at the chair beside him and resting his head on Mingyu's shoulder. They'd decided not to pull Seungkwan into the meeting, knowing he was still grieving, and Soonyoung had not reapeared since the argument yesterday, leaving Jihoon sitting grumpily. 

Seungcheol sat nervously at the head of the table, Jeonghan at his side looking at the table with an anxious expression. The pack leader looked like he didn't know how to say what he needed to, his mouth opening and closing. Finally, he sighed, his shoulders deflating slightly, and everyone instantly got a sinking feeling in their chest. Seungcheol looked up and looked over every face in the room. 

"Joshua ran away."

Beside him, Jeonghan broke down, crumpling against the table as quiet sobs raked his body. Jihoon shot him a pitied look from across the table, but most everyone still stared at Seungcheol. Suddenly, no one was tired. Seungcheol held up a dated journal for everyone to see before handing it to Jihoon who opened it to the bookmarked page, "He wrote a letter saying he was sorry before leaving for the city. He plans on dying there."

It was a stale announcement. Everyone looked glum, and the entire room was silent. Jun's hand holding the pencil shook slightly as he documented, his jubilance from earlier noticeably gone. Mingyu's brows were furrowed as he stared at the table, Wonwoo's hand placed on his forearm in an attempt to soothe any brewing emotions. Chan groaned under his breath and rested his forehead against the table. "What are we gonna do?"

"Nothing we can do, yet. Joshua is more stubborn than I am, and he's very upset at himself for what's happened. I'm afraid all we can do is let him be."

It was quiet as the information settled in, everything already said on the matter. All they could do was wait now, whether that be for him to return or to never see him again. Jihoon raised an eyebrow towards Seungcheol, finally looking up from Joshua's letter, "How is the human doing? Will he be able to leave soon?"

Seungcheol tore his gaze away from Jeonghan's form to nod at Jihoon. "The healer said he was healing nicely; he's able to hold conversation and remain conscious for long periods of time. She said he may be almost fully healed within the week, so he can leave after that."

"No!"

Attention was turned toward the other end of the table, Jun's eyes wide and the pencil he'd been holding laying on the table. Seungcheol raised an eyebrow, "Jun, I know you've been concerned about this human, but he needs to go back where he belongs once he's healed."

His eyes narrowed and flashed at the thought of Minghao being taken away, a change that didn't go unnoticed. Seokmin gave a knowing glance from across the table and kicked at his foot to get his attention, "Juni, spill it before this goes too far."

The omega's eyes dimmed, and he looked at Seokmin in fear, shaking his head slightly, but it was too late. 

"Junhui."

Seungcheol's voice from the other end of the table drew Jun's eyes to the alpha. "Did you imprint on a human?"

Everyone held their breath at the question, then immediately heaved a sigh of relief when Jun slowly shook his head. Seungcheol waved a hand in relief, "Then there is no-"

"He's my mate."

Time seemed to freeze, and everyone's jaws audibly dropped. Jihoon spoke this time, shaking his head, "That isn't possible, if you didn't imprint then the human couldn't have-"

"He's my fated mate."

Jeonghan's head sprung up finally, staring at Jun with wide eyes, "Since when?"

Jun looked almost embarrassed as he sighed, leaving back into his chair in an attempt to hide from everyone's gaze. "Since the attack. I knew it immediately. The healer could tell and she confronted me about it, and I've already talked to Minghao about it."

"Minghao?"

"That's his name. Use it," he shot a warning look to Mingyu, who backed down at the ferocity behind the gaze, "He's already agreed to stay. Please don't kick him out, because I'm not afraid to go with him."

It was quiet, but that wasn't a surprise. No one had expected this kind of development, not in a million years, but there was really nothing to be done. Separating two regular mates, it hurts, yes, but it's not nearly as disastrous as separating two fated mates. Seungcheol understood this, and he nodded appropriately. "Of course not. Minghao will be welcomed as any mate should. As soon as he is able, he can sit with you at the table like any other mate."

A bright smile broke out on Jun's face, "He'll be happy to hear!"

It was a soft moment, but Jihoon was quick to dampen it, "But don't forget, the rest of the pack won't be quick to accept a human. You'll need to be careful."

Jun nodded, but the smile did not dim. It was a small bit of good news amidst the other stuff happening in the pack, but they cherished it nontheless.

Time - 7:29 A.M.

Soonyoung arrived just after sunrise, and he made sure to enter through the back entrance to avoid any unwanted attention. His wounds were starting to bother him, and though they didn’t need a trip to the healer’s hut, it wouldn’t be unwelcome. It was early enough that he believed most council members should still be in their beds, though unbeknownst to him, a meeting had concluded just minutes before. After he transformed, it was only a matter of making his way through the halls without knocking anything over. He still hadn’t seen the exact damage of the scratches, but he could tell they looked worse than they felt. Soonyoung managed to get inside his room and get the door closed, but that was only half the battle. 

“You didn’t go hunting.”

The dead voice from behind him had lost its usual bite. Sighing, Soonyoung turned around to face a very disgruntled looking mate. Jihoon sat at the foot of the bed, his arms crossed in front of his chest in what was supposed to be a disapproving look, but it just seemed tired. Soonyoung knew as well that his disappearance had caused Jihoon pain, whether it be the emotional kind from his outburst or the physical from their separation. He stood with his back against the door, mostly in shadow, though he knew it would not conceal his wounds for long. His wounds had clotted long ago, but even in bipedal form, the scent of blood was strong. 

“Let me see.”

Soonyoung made no sounds as he stepped forward, the light of dawn streaming in through the barely curtained window shedding streaks of light across his body. The lack of abdominal coverage made the gash across his side wholly visible, and upon taking his second step into the light, the scratch on his cheek came into the light as well. Soonyoung kept his eyes on Jihoon’s face, but the darkness prevented much of his expression from view. However, he didn’t need to see it to know he was upset. The sadness radiated off of him like waves crashing against a beach; intense and damaging. 

Slowly, his mate stood and made his way across the few feet between them. As his face came into view, Jihoon’s worried eyes bore into him as they seem transfixed on his cheek, a hand tentatively lifting in Soonyoung’s peripheral vision. As the fingertips gently grazed the very edges of the wound, Soonyoung flinched slightly, not because of pain but because of the tenderness. Jihoon’s hand stilled, and his eyes met Soonyoung’s once more before he slowly rested the hand against his neck, his thumb and forefinger barely tracing over his cheek. 

“What happened?” 

When Jihoon spoke, his voice was soft, almost airy with disbelief, and it only broke Soonyoung’s heart more. He dropped his hand from where it had been holding his wound, instead resting it weakly on Jihoon’s waist, his other hand cupping Jihoon’s on his neck. “I took a trip. I found out what I needed to know. Got in a bit of trouble when I tried to leave.” His words had no success in calming his mate down, so instead of trying to make anymore excuses, he knelt his head down, resting his forehead against Jihoon’s, his running having elevated his body temperature and causing Jihoon’s skin to feel like ice. He felt a shaky breath leave his mate’s lips, washing across his skin. “I’m sorry. I’ll never leave you again.”

He smiled as Jihoon lightly punched his chest, wrapping his arms around his mate and resting heavily against him, exhaustion finally setting into his body as he lost strength and nearly collapsed against his mate. Jihoon’s knees buckled as the weight fell against him, and he took a step backwards to regain his balance. Gasping, he clumsily made his way to the bed and tried, as gently as he could, to lay Soonyoung’s heavy mass on the soft bed with minimal success. Huffing slightly, he looked down at Soonyoung in annoyance only for his expression to immediately soften at his soft expression. He’d been MIA for about 16 hours, and it looked like he hadn’t even stopped for rest on the way to his destination or on his way back. If Jihoon was being honest, it was uncharacteristically stupid for Soonyoung to do something so rash, but that wasn’t the point that needed adresing: his wounds were. Hurriedly, Jihoon pulled Soonyoung on the bed so he could lay more comfortably, being careful not to stretch his wounds any if possible, a task he knew he’d failed barely a second after he’d started. 

Too scared to continue for fear he'd just mess up, he called upon the healer. She was distraught because of Joshua's disappearance, but she did her job, patching up the alpha before it was too late.

Now all that was left was waiting for him to wake up.

Time - 9:32 A.M.

The next day wasn’t much better. The sadness was worse, and the weight on his chest seemed to be growing constantly. He managed to fight the desire to lay in bed and sat up, blinking around the room and looking around grumpily. He looked over to Hansol’s side of the bed and placed his hand on top of the sheet, his heart twinging inside his chest at the cold, empty feeling. The feeling of not being all there, the horrible feeling of being alone and disoriented, it made his skin crawl and heart ache. Solemnly, he transformed into his wolf form and curled up on the bed, wrapping around Vernon’s pillow that he’d left behind, already losing its scent. He lay like that for a while, his tail occasionally thumping against the bed, his thoughts drifting across all his different memories with his Vernonie. He closed his eyes, imaging his Hansol was still there with him. 

“Come on, Kwanie, let’s stay in tonight.”

Seungkwan looked at Hansol sprawled out on the bed, sighing and putting his hands on his hips as he looked down at him.”Hansol, you and I both know we have to go hunting with the pack tonight.”

Hansol rolled face down on the bed, turning his head to the side and pouting playfully at Seungkwan. “But what if we say we’re sick?”

He sighed, shaking his head and looking at Hansol with a faint smile on his face. “That might work for them, but you and I haven’t transformed in a while, and we need to to keep the wolves healthy.”

Hansol seemed to consider this answer for a few seconds before suddenly transforming on the bed, walking in a circle before getting comfortable again on the sheets. 

Seungkwan stomped his foot in annoyance at him. “Hansol~ you can’t loophole this!”

He watched the dark brown wolf on the bed adjust his position again, his tail thumping against the bed and his glossy hazel eyes watching Seungkwan carefully. 

Groaning, Seungkwan walked to the edge of the bed and looked down at Hansol disappointedly. He pouted and whined at him cutely. “Vernonie~”

The wolf before him only winked at him, and Seungkwan whined again. “Vernonie~ please don’t be so stubborn~!”

Again, the wolf made no move. Seungkwan puffed his cheeks out, exhaling noisily to express his frustration. “Fine. We won’t go out, we’ll stay in.”

"You don’t have to stay with me, you know."

Seungkwan crawled on the bed, transforming into his blond wolf and curling up beside Hansol’s form, their snouts next to each other. "Shut up, you know I can’t go anywhere without you. You’re using it against me."

Hansol whimpered and nuzzled his snout against Seungkwan’s. "I’m sorry, but don’t pretend you didn’t do this to me the other day, too."

"Shut up." Though his words were harsh, he nuzzled against Hansol’s snout again and closed his eyes. That night, they lay like that till they fell asleep, and they woke up in the same position. 

Seungkwan felt his eyes water, even in wolf form. He whimpered and hid his face under his large paws, feeling worse and worse as time went on. 

Outside, Chan sat against the door, wishing he could go inside and comfort his friend but knowing it wouldn't be welcome. He buried his head in his knees when Seungkwan's whimpers and cries entered his ears, feeling more useless than he had in a while. 

Time - 11:05 A.M.

Chan walked into the council room with heavy shoulders, his head hanging low as he sat in his seat, and everyone looked at him with a worried expression. 

Seokmin was the first to speak up, tapping the table in front of him to gain his attention. “Chan, whats up?”

He sighed, pouting sadly at the wooden table. “Seungkwan just keeps getting sadder and sadder. I don’t know what to do.”

Silence filled the room as everyone exchanged awkward glances on how to handle the situation. Mingyu cleared his throat and shifted in his chair sharing an uncomfortable glance with Wonwoo. “Erm… He’ll get used to it eventually, Channie. These things take some time.”

“But it doesn’t make sense!” Chan groaned in confusion, his hands running down his face. “How come no one is this upset about Joshua leaving? Seungcheol and him were as close as Hansol and Seungkwan were!”

Everyone’s eyes switched from Chan to Seungcheol, and he looked up from his papers, eyes flicking over everyone’s faces with an awkward expression. “Uh…” He cleared his throat and sat up a bit straighter, looking at Chan pitifully. “We all miss Joshua and Hansol, Chan. They both were our friends.”

Chan shook his head, leaning back in the chair with an exasperated sigh. “You guys don’t understand.”

Everyone else looked at Seungcheol, but he shrugged helplessly. They exchanged glances, but no one had any idea what to say. Mingyu nudged his mate, and Wonwoo sat up in his chair, clearing his throat slightly and looking at Chan curiously. “...what don’t we understand?”

He sighed, his head falling on his shoulder. “Seungkwan’s sadness.”

Everyone looked exasperated at the answer, but Wonwoo raised a finger to his lips and asked again. He leaned forward, his elbows on the table. “What about it do we not get, Channie?”

“Seungkwan says it feels like he’s missing half of himself and he doesn’t want to live anymore and his chest is always heavy and it keeps getting worse and he hasn’t left his room since Hansol and he’s always crying.”

Everyone exchanged glances, the same thoughts and worries flying through all of their heads. It really was worse than they thought.

“We just have to let him heal, that’s all that needs to happen.” Chan looked at where Jihoon was speaking from, watching him flip through the pages of his work for the day. He looked so unbothered it made Chan pout at him again.

“Ya, Hyung, how would you react if Soonyoung was as sad as Seungkwan right now?”

Jihoon rolled his eyes slightly before looking at Chan seriously. “It’s different, Soonyoung and I are mates.”

The light bulb went off for everyone simultaneously. Slowly, everyone looked at each other, disbelief and fear clouding everyone’s expressions.

“We did not-”

“We did-”

“Hansol and Seungkwan-”

“-are mates?!”

“We didn’t know-”

“They didn’t even know!”

“How could no one know?”

“Poor Seungkwan-”

“Everyone, that’s enough.” Seungcheol stood from his chair and placed his palms on the table, sighing and looking down after everyone had stopped talking. “All of you, keep this quiet. Especially from Seungkwan.” Chan opened his mouth to protest but closed it when Seungcheol looked at him. “That is not something we can disclose, we have to let Seungkwan figure it out for himself. Hansol too.”

“So what can we do? Mates can’t be separated from each other for very long before…” Wonwoo trailed off, Mingyu reaching for his hands and clasping them together, their fingers intertwining. 

Seungcheol sighed, shaking his head. “Let me think it over. When I have an answer, I’ll call a meeting. Until then,” he looked at each wolf individually, his alpha aura projecting off of him, “no one tell anyone. This stays within this room. Understood?”

The wolves all looked at each other before agreeing. Seungcheol gathered his papers and left the room, off to inform his mate of the developments, The other wolves left slowly after him, Jihoon leavingt last, and the door thudded closed after him. Chan sat at the table, looking at the wood grain of the table in front of him. He felt so sad for all of his friends, and there was absolutely nothing he could do to help.

Time - 1:53 P.M.

Seungcheol entered his room with a heavy sigh, disregarding the sounds of his pups playing around the floor. He'd just gone to check on Seungkwan to confirm Chan's words, and of course they were right. It was very evident he was going through separation pains. If only they'd noticed sooner...

He stepped into the room with heavy footsteps, and he felt the feeling of a pup grabbing his leg. He looked down and sighed softly again, ruffling the hair on Nong-Bi’s head. 

“Papa, can you play with me today? You said you’d play with me today!”

Seungcheol smiled softly at Nong-Bi, about to answer before someone’s hands snaked around Nong-Bi’s waist and picked him up. Seungcheol looked up and smiled as Jeonghan cradled their youngest son in his arms, smiling at him and pinching his cheek to make him giggle.

”Papa is tired today, Bi. Why don’t you play with Sook-Ja tonight? You and Gi-Tae were mean to her earlier, go apologize.” Jeonghan set Nong-Bi down and he ran off to the play area where Sook-Ja was chasing her tail. 

Jeonghan laughed as he watched Nong-Bi tackle his sister, and Seungcheol smiled lovingly, albeit tiredly, at his mate. He slowly made his way over to the bed, laying on his stomach and sighing into the blanket. Jeonghan sat beside him, and Seungcheol rolled onto his back and comfortably placed his head in Jeonghan’s lap. Immediately Jeonghan’s fingers ran through his black hair. “You’ve sighed three times in the past minute. Are you worried about Seungkwan?”

Seungcheol nodded. He felt one of their pups jump on the bed, but it laid down beside Jeonghan, resting his head on Jeonghan’s thigh. Jeonghan chuckled as he began to pet his two wolves on the head, nodding at Seungcheol to continue.

“It’s not just Seungkwan. If we hadn’t exiled Hansol in the first place, this wouldn’t be happening. We only exiled him because he took the blame for Joshua, and Joshua ended up leaving for the city anyway, and we all know what’ll happen to him if he doesn’t come back.” He sighed again, a hand going up to rub his eyes in his stress. “And there’s the matter of Jun and his mate being a human, not to mention it being the human Shua attacked, and now we have Mingyu and his mate…”

Jeonghan’s fingers paused on Seungcheol’s head, and he removed his hand to look at his confused face. “How is Wonwoo causing issues?”

He shook his head, rubbing his cheek subconsciously. “He isn’t, but Soonyoung left because he was so sure he was a spy, and now he's been passed out in his room all day with gashes in his side.”

Jeonghan sighed, shaking his head slightly and began moving his fingers through Seungcheol’s hair again. “We can’t do anything about Soonyoung’s paranoia. He’s just gonna have to learn that Wonwoo is pretty harmless.” He leaned down, looking at Seungcheol upside down. “And we can’t change the past, you know that more than anyone. Joshua did attack Minghao, but if he hadn’t, Jun may never had met his mate.”

“That’s.. technically true.. But we couldn’t control if Joshua would let him live.”

Jeonghan gave him a pointed look, like a mother giving a warning to her child. “You know as well as I do that Joshua would never kill a human. Don’t start doubting him because of one tiny error.”

“But-”

His words were cut off by a soft kiss on the lips, Jeonghan’s lips feeling foreign upside down, but the kiss from his mate electrified him all the same. He pulled away after a few seconds, meeting his eyes seriously. “Joshua is our friend. We can’t start doubting him because of a dumb mistake.”

Seungcheol acquiesced, nodding in defeat and lifting his hand to Jeonghan’s, lazily playing with his fingers to calm his stressed mind. “You’re right. Of course, you’re right; you’re always right.” He intertwined their fingers, admiring his view of Jeonghan for a few seconds. The sound of Gi-Tae’s breathing next to his ear filling him with a sense of pride, and then a sense of failure. 

“It’s all my fault.”

“Cheol, it’s not-”

“Yes it is!” He sighed, sitting up on the bed and hanging his head, his back to Jeonghan. “I’m the one who decided to exile Hansol, I’m the one who decided not to stop Joshua, I’m the one who let Minghao get attacked in the first place by not regulating my council, I’m the one who let Wonwoo enter the pack just because he was Mingyu’s mate, I’m the one who makes the decisions as pack leader. Clearly, I am not cut out for this.”

Jeonghan was silent for a few seconds before moving Gi-Tae off of his lap and closer to Seungcheol, his arms wrapping around his mate’s waist and laying his cheek between his shoulder blades. Seungcheol put a hand on top of arms, thumb rubbing soft circles on the back of his hand. 

“You’re being selfish.” Seungcheol looked over his shoulder at Jeonghan, confused by the words, but they did not stop. “Face it Cheol.. We all fucked up. Not you, not me, all of us; every member of the council. We made all those decisions together, no one person is to blame.” He paused for a few seconds, and Seungcheol could tell he was thinking. “You remember how much it hurt me when you rejected me?”

Seungcheol chuckled. “Bringing up that again?”

His mate slapped his back lightly before pulling away, crawling around the bed to sit in front of Seungcheol. “Not that, you ass. Use your head, what we felt then is what Seungkwan and Hansol are feeling now.” He looked down at his lap sadly, and Seungcheol reached for his hand to offer his support. Jeonghan squeezed his hand softly, “They’ve never been away from each other before, of course they don’t know they’re each other’s mate. Can you imagine how confused they are?”

Seungcheol nodded, his hand releasing Jeonghan’s to run through his hair. “And that’s my fault too.”

He felt Jeonghan’s palms on his cheeks, and he looked at him. “We didn’t know. No one knew, it was an accident.” His thumb grazed against Seungcheol’s sharp cheekbone, his mouth twisting into a sad frown. “What I’m saying is: we, as a pack, fucked up, and we need to fix it.”

“How? I can’t just bring him back.”

Jeonghan looked at him and raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything else. Realization crashed over Seungcheol, and his eyes widened slightly.

“Jeonghan, I can’t just bring him back.”

“Yes, you can, Cheol, and that’s what you’re going to do.”

“I’ll lose face as pack leader-”

“Would you rather Seungkwan lose his life?”

The bluntness of the words shocked Seungcheol’s protests, and he blinked in surprise as he fumbled for words. “Of course not, That’s not what I-”

“Do you want Hansol to be found dead in the forest?”

“That’s not-”

“What about Joshua?”

“I don’t want any of them to die!” After the outburst, Seungcheol was quiet for a few seconds, looking at Jeonghan in confusion before he realized what the point of the interrogation was. “Okay, Okay, I see what you mean.” Seungcheol sighed. 

With that, Jeonghan nodded, moving back and letting Gi-Tae walk back into his lap and nuzzle into his legs again. Jeonghan began petting the fur on his youngest’s neck to lull him back to sleep. “We can bring Hansol back very easily, and we need to do that as soon as possible.”

Seungcheol nodded, moving closer and softly rubbing behind Gi-Tae’s ears. “It’s a few days travel to where Hansol is residing. I’ll send someone tomorrow so he’ll be back as soon as possible.” Seungcheol took the hand that was rubbing his beloved son’s head and pressed the heel of his palm to rub his eyes. “Now comes the hard part: convincing the council that Hansol is needed back in the pack. It’ll be put up to a vote, and some of them won’t be happy about me giving in...”

Jeonghan smiled sneakily at him, “No.. but I know a couple of mates that will have a very compelling case for them.” Seungcheol couldn’t help the affectionate chuckle that escaped him. 

“I’ll take care of scheduling the meeting, you stay with the pups.”

Jeonghan smiled and nodded. In picking up Gi-Tae from his lap, Jeonghan laughed while the sleeping puppy transformed back into his bipedal form during the sudden movement. “I could stay with these rascals for the rest of my life and I wouldn’t complain,” Gi-Tae attempted to wrap his arms around Jeonghan’s neck while Jeonghan was mid-sentence. Jeonghan gave an exasperated look to Seungcheol as he moved the small child from being cradled in his arms to having the pup’s, now human, head resting on his shoulder in order to distract the sleeping boy from his words. “But honestly, you’re going to have to start pulling your weight a little more. The children miss you and-“ Jeonghan exclaimed in pain as Gi-Tae grabbed a fistful of his hair, pulling on it as he tried to adjust his position mid-nap. Seungcheol watched his mate untangle Gi-Tae from his hair, and with one hand, smoothed his hair back in place and rub his scalp. “-and I don’t think I can handle much more of this.”

Seungcheol laughed at his mate, taking Gi-Tae from him and making sure that the small child was still asleep. “I will, I will, after everything is settled down with the pack, and while we’re waiting for Hansol to come back, I’ll stay around and help you.” He expected Jeonghan to agree, but was surprised when his mate shook his head, causing him to raise an eyebrow. “Why not?”

“Because we need to focus on getting Josh back now.”

He raised an eyebrow at Jeonghan, but his attention was drawn as Gi-Tae continued to whimper softly from not being in his Appa’s comforting arms any longer. “How can we do that? You know as well as I do how stubborn Joshua is.”

Reaching to Gi-Tae and rubbing a hand on his back to soothe the child, Jeonghan nodded. “For all we know, he may never come back. He may stay in the city until he kills himself.” He sighed heavily before smiling softly as he watched Gi-Tae inhale deeply and accept his place in his Papa’s arms. “But I won’t let him go without a fight.”

Seungcheol nodded, adjusting his body on the bed to be situated more towards Jeonghan. “We can go talk to him tomorrow if the council miraculously decides to keep it short, but it’ll take a while before Josh is ready to come back.”

Jeonghan nodded, rubbing his arms from his nerves. “I know, he’s more stubborn than both of us combined, especially about this.” 

After a minute of silence, which is rare in their household, both parents noticed their other two children sleepily walking towards the bed, and Jeonghan finally smiled sneakily at Seungcheol. “I just can’t wait for my favorite babysitter to come back and help me since my useless mate doesn’t want to.”

He laughed evilly at the joke, but was cut off abruptly when Seungcheol pounced on him, after having put Gi-Tae on his Appa’s side of the bed and settling Nong-Bi and Seok-Ja into the covers as well for a much needed nap time, pinning his mate to the wall and smiling playfully at him.

“You know damn well I will let no one near our pups,” Jeonghan hit his chest playfully, growing flustered at their proximity. “even Josh.” Seungcheol leaned in to kiss him, but he felt three powerful thuds hit his body before he could close the gap, why was nap time incredibly short these days? 

He groaned and buried his face in Jeonghan’s neck, mumbling against his skin as he felt their pups bouncing on his back and shaking his limbs. “One night, just one night, one night with my mate, that’s all I’m asking.”

Jeonghan laughed, kissing his ear before pushing him up, accepting Sook-Ja curling up on top of his chest. He smiled at Seungcheol, who now had one pup climbing up his arm and another on his head. “Maybe after they go to sleep for the night.”

Seungcheol sighed before chuckling, Nong-Bi slipping off his head and into his arms, while Gi-Tae was clinging onto his father’s back and proceeded to playfully fight over Seungcheol’s shoulder. “It’s gonna be a long afternoon.

Time - 8:37 P.M.

Soonyoung slept for most of the day, which no one was surprised about, and the head healer was in and out of the room constantly. She allowed no one else inside, save Jihoon himself, but that didn’t stop the rest of the council members from crowding around the door and occasionally breaching the threshold only to be shooed off by both an angry healer and an even angrier mate. Soonyoung wasn’t in pain, but his breathing never quite evened out, and everytime he took too deep a breath, his body would flinch from stretching the wound. It was hard to watch, but Jihoon couldn’t bear to leave him after having been separated for the past day. 

Only after the sun had set did Soonyoung’s eyes open, his wound bound and stuffed with herbs and his body heavy. The moonlight streaking in through the window lit up the room some, but the light did not quite reach the bed. Rather, it reverberated around the room, a calming energy that was usually felt during these hours filling him and easing his heartbeat. He was on his back, no doubt because the healer needed to work on his wounds. His body felt heavy as lead, and his arms were almost impossible to lift due to his muscular exhaustion. Soonyoung began to sit up, wanting to check his body more easily, but the weight of his body disallowed him from sitting up. He exhaled coolly before trying again, immediately stopping as he felt something tighten around him. Confused, Soonyoung looked down, his breath catching in his throat before he quickly laid down again. 

Jihoon was pressed solidly against his side, fast asleep with his breathing fanning across Soonyoung’s bare side, his arms wrapped low around his hips, low enough that they wouldn’t disturb his wound, his legs also loosely wrapped around Soonyoung’s right one. Immediately, Soonyoung felt bad for worrying him for so long. Even in his sleep, Jihoon was scared, worried that Soonyoung would leave again. No one else would be able to tell, because Jihoon always looked so peaceful when he slept, but Soonyoung could always read his mate, especially as he slept. Though his body still ached, more so now that he’d attempted to move, he rested a hand heavily on the top of Jihoon’s head, moving his fingers slightly as the soft strands of his hair flowed between his light grip. It wasn’t much, but he was relieved to feel Jihoon’s nerves calm; his grip loosened, and his breathing fell even softer against his side. The most surprising of all was that he nuzzled closer, pressing himself even closer against Soonyoung than he had been previously. 

It was the best thing Soonyoung could’ve possibly woken up to. 

As he stared fondly at his mate, his hand too tired to ruffle into his hair, he smiled softly at his cuteness. It was no secret that Jihoon was brazen and stubborn, so much so that most took him as an alpha at first glance. The common people were surprised when Jihoon was outed as an omega, as previously only the council knew the truth, outed only when it was announced that he had been taken as Soonyoung’s mate. Suddenly, Jihoon had become the disappointment of the council, at least in the people’s eyes, as omega’s still had a lot of prejudice against them, even in modern times. It didn’t help that Jihoon’s natural personality rubbed people the wrong way, so when it came out that he was merely an omega, people believed he was too arrogant to be a good omega. People even approached Soonyoung and told him to leave Jihoon, saying he would only disappoint. Sure, it only ended with Chan and Mingyu attempting to pull him off before he mauled the poor men, but that wasn’t the point. Jihoon always said those comments didn’t bother him, but as much as Soonyoung saw through the lies, Jihoon never admitted. Even now, they’d been mated for a while, and Jihoon hadn’t gotten pregnant or given birth. People always whispered that he was infertile, but rather than that, he wasn’t ready. But Soonyoung understood, and he never pushed him to do the things he was uncomfortable with, even with his brash personality. 

Jihoon never said it, but Soonyoung knew Jihoon loved him as much as he loved Jihoon.


	5. Fifth

Time - 6:23 A.M.

“What happened to call a meeting so early in the day?”

“I don’t know, but Seungcheol seemed really flustered when he announced it.”

Mingyu lounged in his council chair, comfortable in the carved wooden confinements, as he eavesdropped on the conversations around him. Soonyoung only woke up late last night; his absence was probably the only reason Seungcheol had postponed the meeting even a day longer than he should have. Mingyu scoffed softly at the thought. He hadn’t yet vocalized his thoughts on this matter, not even to his mate, but now, without Seungcheol’s prying eyes… 

He turned to Wonwoo who sat beside him, carefully reading a pack history binding, who immediately lifted his eyes when he felt his mate look towards him. Even though the room was neither quiet nor noisy, Mingyu didn’t bother lowering his voice as he spoke, “It’s irresponsible if you ask me.”

Wonwoo just looked at him confused, an eyebrow raising slightly, but out of the corner of his eye, Mingyu saw other council members looking at him. “What’s irresponsible?”

“All of this.” Mingyu was aware all eyes were on him now, and the air in the room seemed to have stopped flowing. “Seungcheol. All of his decisions so far have caused travesties in the pack. None of this kind of stuff happened before he took over as Pack Leader; if his father could see him, he’d be disappointed.”

The back door opened, and everyone looked to see if Seungcheol had caught Mingyu’s gossip, though the wolf in question couldn’t look more unbothered if he’d been caught. Some heaved a sigh, and others held their breath as the blond head of Jeonghan walked into the room, his green eyes trained dangerously on Mingyu as he made his way to his chair by the ornate one of the Pack Leader’s. A chill filled the room, and every wolf looked between Jeonghan and Mingyu with uncertainty of how this could possibly continue.

Jeonghan was the first to speak, his arms folded on the table as he leaned forward, tense eyes having never left Mingyu’s nonchalant posture. “Care to repeat that, Mingyu?”

Wonwoo shook his head softly, but Mingyu raised a hand to calm him, as if to say ‘I’ve got this under control’, before turning to Jeonghan and copying his stance., hard brown eyes fixating on the sharp green ones. “Oh? I was just saying your mate’s decisions have been ill advised and will lead the pack to ruin.”

Jeonghan visibly bristled, eyes darkening ever so slightly, and no one noticed Jun begin writing the altercation in his notebook. Minghao beside him looked uncomfortable, but not even the human could tear his eyes away. “What decisions specifically are you referring to, exactly? I hope you don’t mean him allowing your mate to stay.”

Mingyu heard Wonwoo inhale beside him, but he wasn’t the only one. Soonyoung burned from where he sat between him and Jihoon, shame filling him. Jun and Minghao also bristled across the table, Jun’s pen stopping on the paper and ink collecting under the tip. His mate, sensing Jun’s discomfort growing like his own, wrapped his arms around Jun’s shoulders, and only then could Jun continue his sentence.

This was going to get ugly.

“Let’s not forget my title, Jeonghan. As leader of our military, my first priority is the safety of the pack, so if Seungcheol had made the decision that Wonwoo’s presence would jeopardize the pack, I wouldn’t hesitate doing what I had to do.” No one missed the way Wonwoo looked at his mate, warning eyes tinged with hurt at the words. “My concern is that Seungcheol is being a bit soft on what the people are thinking, and he’s making some poor decisions as a result. And,” He paused, eyes darting to Jun who sat at the end of the table, “At least Wonwoo is a wolf.”

Jun growled lowly at him, instantly defensive of his mate, hair raising on his arms and eyes flashing bright green, but he did not transform nor lash out verbally. He wasn’t alone, Jeonghan’s eyes also grew in their green brilliance, hands clenching ever so slightly as he held himself back from launching across the table and brawling with Mingyu then and there. Everyone listening knew Mingyu was being harsh, but his words had truth to them no matter how crass his word choice. 

Jeonghan inhaled deeply, tone harsh, “Listen, Gyu-”

“Okay, lets kill this conversation now.” 

Mingyu whipped around to see Wonwoo looking at him sharply, snapping his book closed and placing it on the table. Wonwoo had barely been in the pack for two days, so this was the first time anyone in that room had seen how cold he could look. Not even Mingyu expected this soft wolf to look so sharp, and he immediately lost any words he could have said.

Wonwoo narrowed his eyes slightly, and everyone watching felt bad for Mingyu being on the receiving end of those eyes. “You need to shut your ass and keep that opinion to yourself, especially if you’re not going to be nice about it.”

The onlooking council members watched in shock as their Mingyu, who before stood proud and tall, pouted as he turned his entire body to his mate. “But Woo-”

“No buts. We’re wolves, but we aren’t feral.” He put a hand on Mingyu’s arm, instantly radiating a loving vibe even with his eyes still looking so determined. “You may or may not be right, but is picking a fight with the pack leader’s mate really the best way to keep the pack strong? Or is soothing your own ego more important?”

The room was silent as Wonwoo’s words soaked into not just Mingyu, but everyone in the council. To some varying degree, everyone felt like the pack was dangerously close to collapsing, and if it did, all blame would fall to Seungcheol. The addition of Wonwoo and Minghao, a supposed traiter from another pack and a plain human who now knows the ins and outs of their existence, was enough to cause an uproar among the people. Add into the fact that Joshua and Hansol were absent, leaving Seungkwan disabilitated. It was a safe assumption to say the pack’s stability was teetering on the edge of a cliff. Wonwoo had been in the pack for all of two days and he was already probably the most level headed in the entire council. 

A snicker sounded from across the table, and attention turned to Soonyoung sitting in his seat beside Mingyu. His abdomen was still heavily bandaged from his journey (the details had yet to be explained), but he was sitting in his chair with strength. “Who would’ve thought? Pack disorder prevented by it’s cause.”

Wonwoo bristled ever so slightly, and Mingyu growled in Soonyoung’s direction, but Soonyoung wasn’t done. “What you are feeling is what you made Jeonghan and Jun feel when you insulted their mates. You’re lucky you weren’t mauled; Jeonghan’s wolf form is almost as big as the one who did this to me last night.” 

Jeonghan blinked at Soonyoung as he was mentioned, but Jihoon’s sharp inhale took precedence. “You got mauled by a wolf?!”

It was quite funny to watch alphas shrink under their mates. Soonyoung looked almost frightened as he answered Jihoon, voice shrinking, “It was two…”

“Soonyoung-”

“Ah, that's why you smell like them.” Jihoon was cut off by Wonwoo, who was now smiling somewhat at the injured alpha. “You went to my old pack to see if I was telling the truth. I’m surprised you got close enough without getting killed.”

Soonyoung practically snarled, his pride visibly damaged. “What is that supposed to mean-”

“It was a compliment.” Soonyoung blinked at his so-called “enemy,” and everyone’s eyes were on the black haired wolf. Wonwoo looked around and, noticing he was the center of attention, shrunk back into his chair ever so slightly. “I was just saying… My old pack was something of a nightmare. I seemed to be the only one unwilling to stand the abuse anymore, but when I was caught trying to leave, well,” Wonwoo smiled ever so slightly, looking up to Soonyoung with a mischievous glint in his eye, “Let’s just say I’m lucky I’m fast.”

Soonyoung looked down to the table again, actions dripping with shame, and that seemed to be a permanent end to that discussion. Wonwoo cleared his throat before sitting up again, looking at Mingyu whose eyes shone with so much pride and love for his mate, Chan audibly gagged. He put his hand on the arm of his mate. “But Soonyoung’s right. You can’t attack mates like that without expecting a response. This discussion is sowing discord, and that’s just gonna drive the pack further into ruin. It’s time to be an adult.”

Mingyu bowed his head, the truth in Wonwoo’s words reverberating around the room. He looked up, mouth open to apologize to Jeonghan, but was cut off by the heavy sound of the council door opening. Seungcheol walked in, eyes immediately widening in surprise at the serious atmosphere within the council walls. 

“Why the glum faces? I know it’s been hard, but I didn’t take you for serious types.”

Jeonghan smiled as Seungcheol sat down, putting his hand on his forearm to reassure him. “Everything’s all good, we were just discussing the past and clearing up some misunderstandings.”

“Are you sure? I felt you get angry a few minutes ago.” Seungcheol’s voice was soft, caring for his mate’s wellbeing. To say Jeonghan and Seungcheol hadn’t become every wolf’s ideal romance would be a fat lie.

Even now, Jeonghan just nodded and patted Seungcheol’s arm twice, signaling him to move on, which he promptly did. Seungcheol cleared his throat as he looked over the people situated around the table. “I’ll be frank. Yesterday in this room while discussing Seungkwan’s condition, we made the discovery that Seungkwan and Hansol are mates.”

Those who didn’t know looked up at Seungcheol, most verbally being Soonyoung who had been absent. “How can you be sure?”

“Seungkwan describes his pain in a very similar way to what we feel when separated from our mates.” Jeonghan sighed before counting the symptoms off on his fingers, “The feeling of being incomplete, the pain, the intense sadness; it’s all word for word. And it’s real.” His eyes looked back up to Soonyoung and crossed his arms on the table, his expression sad. “It’s good we caught it early, but the pain is gonna keep growing, though at a slower rate than mine did.”

Jun looked up from his pencil, eyes directed toward Seungcheol at the head of the table but voicing a question for everyone, “What are we gonna do?”

Mingyu looked to Seungcheol and saw him exchange glances with Jeonghan. They’ve clearly already talked about this, and Mingyu’s stomach dropped at the obvious answer they must’ve come to. “You want to retract his exile, don’t you?”

Seungcheol nodded, exhaling and clasping his hands in front of him. “We can’t exile Seungkwan as well, and Hansol is only suffering the punishment on Joshua’s behalf. Joshua exiled himself in the end anyway, so it’s perfectly acceptable to retract the decision at this point.”

Mingyu opened his mouth, but was cut off by Jihoon, “Still, the pack won’t be happy. They don’t know Joshua committed the crime originally, so if Hansol comes back, they’ll blame you for being soft.”

“So we bring him back secretly.”

Jihoon turned to his mate, eyes wide at the suggestion. “Soonyoung, it can’t be that simple-”

“No, that’s exactly what we were thinking.” Heads turned to Jeonghan, who smiled sneakily beside Seungcheol. “We need to get our council back. After we’re whole, then let’s worry about the people. They’re important, yes, but our pack’s foundation is compromised. We need to fix it.”

The room was silent, but the air was busy. Was it really that simple?

It had to be.

Seokmin tapped his pen against the table, gaining the Pack Leader’s attention. “What about Joshua? You said we need to fix our foundation; that means bringing him back too.”

Seungcheol nodded, shooting a nervous look to his mate before speaking, “What he did was wrong, but it was also a mistake. I never wanted to punish him, especially after the circumstances concerning Minghao were brought to light.”

Jun turned to check his mate, but Minghao just shook his head and smiled at him, rubbing his mate’s arms ever so lightly. Mingyu watched the action but felt intrusive, so he turned to his own mate instead. Wonwoo met his eyes and nodded once, causing Mingyu to sigh. “We need to bring both of them back.”

Seungcheol looked to everyone in the council, but saw similar expressions of approval on every face. He looked to Jeonghan who smiled brightly at his alpha, eliciting one from the Pack Leader’s face as well. Seungcheol nodded. “Alright. Jihoon, Soonyoung: head out as soon as you can for Hansol. It’s a full day’s travel to his location, and we can’t risk them being apart much longer.”

Only after Soonyoung nodded did Jihoon as well. He seemed still on the fence as his mate was still heavily injured, but no one could refuse the pack alpha. 

“What about Joshua?” It was the first time Minghao had spoken in front of the council, and it was the first time anyone in that room had heard his voice save Jun. 

The mood quickly grew awkward, and Jeonghan spoke up from the other end of the table, tone kind yet firm, “We’d understand if you have a problem with his return, but please keep in mind he’s one of us.”

“Trust me, I haven't forgotten.” Despite the words, Minghao’s tone was still calm, maybe even worried. “I was just asking who would retrieve him, and if you even had knowledge of the city’s workings to find him.” 

Jeonghan flushed at the question and sat back in his chair as his embarrassment grew. “Well, that’s…”

Minghao looked around, but it seemed everyone was avoiding his eyes at the question. He sighed softly and turned his body towards Seungcheol. “I know you can communicate mentally; how far of a distance can it go?”

The pack alpha blinked but answered, “In your form, about 100 meters. In wolf form, about 1000.”

The human thought it over before sighing again, running a hand down his face. “Seoul is 15 kilometers wide. It will take forever to find even his rough location just by walking.”

“Do you know the city well?”

Minghao turned to his mate who’d spoken. “I’ve lived there the past several years, so I know it about as well as any resident.”

“Where do you recommend we search first?”

He raised an eyebrow but went along with the question, “Two things I would recommend would be one, places with things he likes, and two, a place as far from the forest as possible.”

Jeonghan sat up quickly, looking at Minghao curiously. “Why far from the forest?”

“You said he was stubborn.” Minghao shrugged as if it were the most natural thing. “If he’s placed himself in self exile, that’s what he would think.”

“But then he’d die.”

“Did I stutter?”

Sensing his mate’s growing fear, Seungcheol put his hand on his arm, looking at Minghao seriously. “Jeonghan and I will personally begin seeking Joshua out. I’d like for you to join us.”

Before Minghao could respond, Jun cut him off, eyebrows knitted together, “You want him to guide you around the city, not leave him behind, correct?”

Seungcheol smiled tiredly. He had no right to complain about Jun’s possessiveness. “Of course not. You’re allowed to come as well, you know. I do not wish to separate mates, especially during these hard times.”

Jun looked to his mate again, seeking confirmation. When Minghao nodded, Jun turned back to the pack alpha. “Okay.”

Seungcheol stood after Jun spoke, nodding once down the table. “Chan, I want you to keep tabs on Seungkwan, but you can’t tell him about him and Hansol being mates.” The youngest nodded, and he looked around. The mood was better than when he’d walked in, but it was still off. He smiled, no longer tired but encouraging. “Our pack is strong. We will not let this destroy us. We will overcome, just as we have for the past several generations. Stay positive and don’t worry. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

For the first time in several days, everyone believed it would.


	6. Sixth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to get up y'all, family stuff has been a pain, but thank you for being patient!

The Next Day

Time - 1:02 P.M.

Leaving the pack hurt Hansol for more reasons than it probably should have. Yes, he was leaving his home and his family, but the mistake he made balanced that sadness out with resolve. Even as Hansol had walked through the forest towards the edge of the forest, he felt resolved with the decision; it was his fault in the first place, and he should face the consequences. The part that really hurt was leaving his best friend.

The whole journey, Hansol felt his heart thudding in his chest, felt the sadness weighing him down more and more as he walked. His thoughts often consisted of Seungkwan and only Seungkwan. He wondered if he was eating, and every night he wondered if he was sleeping. Everything he saw reminded him of Seungkwan, from the water running in the streams when he bathed to the stars above his head when he slept. Everytime he transformed into his large wolf form, he missed seeing Seungkwan’s blond wolf next to him. It was so strange, the heaviness he felt in his chest hurt so much, way worse than the times they’d been apart previously. 

Now, he was laying by the mouth of the river, hidden behind a couple of bushes in case any humans decided to walk by, when he was thinking about it again. The hole in his chest where his heart should be was heaviest, and he missed Seungkwan even more than he could remember ever missing him. Hansol was always one to get lost in his thoughts, usually zoning out and thinking very seriously for long periods of time, but since leaving the pack, since the pain from missing Seungkwan started, he found himself debating why being apart from Seungkwan could make him so sad. That day was such a day as that, where when he looked at the sky, the bright blue made his heart yearn to run in a field with Seungkwan. 

Of course, the first question was “Do I love him?”

Do I?

It was true, he loved Seungkwan the same way he loved all the council members, as a friend and a brother. And yet, he couldn’t deny that Seungkwan was someone different, someone special to him. They didn’t like to part from each other, ever, and they liked to hug and cuddle more than their other friends did with each other. Did that mean it was love? No, not exactly, but the way Hansol’s heart thumped in his chest told him something different. 

What else was there? Hansol rolled onto his side, his legs and paws laying on the shaded, soft grass. They shared a bed, and they more often than not hugged each other as they slept. They bathed together at the river every night, with the other council members or just the two of them. They always went out to hunt together, to the point where everyone knew not to ask if they could join because the entire pack knew they preferred going alone. 

Hansol blew air out of his nose. He didn’t want to ask the easy questions he hadn’t thought about before, but it looked like he had no choice. 

Am I sexually attracted to him?

The thought felt so foreign in his mind, and it was; never in his life had he ever once thought about doing anything sexual with anyone, let alone Seungkwan. Being a beta, it wasn’t something he was confronted with often. The thought felt so weird, he immediately shook it out of his mind. Maybe another way…

If I did get ruts, would I want to claim Seungkwan?

That question wasn’t so bad, he decided. Oftentimes, he wondered what it would be like to be an Alpha or an Omega, to get heats and ruts like all of his friends seemed to. Thinking about claiming Seungkwan though…

That was new.

But he couldn’t say it sounded unappealing.

He whimpered in his wolf form and rubbed his face into the grass, getting the thoughts of his best friend out of his mind. That seemed to be a clear enough answer. 

Hansol paused in his movements, a new thought floating through his mind and making him confused. 

Even if I imprinted… it doesn’t mean I would have this pain.

What else is there?

He tried to think back to his friends, back to when his friends got together and mated with each other, and though it brought him sadness due to missing them so much, he needed to figure this out. He couldn’t use Seungcheol and Jeonghan as an example, because they were fated mates, and Seungcheol’s pain was caused by that. Hansol closed his eyes and remembered when Soonyoung was sad about Jihoon rejecting his imprintation. He was in pain, yes, but nowhere near what Hansol was feeling now, and certainly nowhere near the level of sadness. Maybe..

There was one day he could remember, towards the beginning of their courtship. Jihoon had business outside of the pack, for what he couldn’t remember, and had to leave for a few days. During that time, Soonyoung was as sad as he’d ever seen him, moping around the council room and always hanging off his arm like a dejected puppy. He said it felt like he was missing his other half, but no one really believed it, especially since none of the other council members had found their mates at the time, and their experience was minimal. Thinking back now, though, the feeling Soonyoung described is the same feeling that settled in his stomach now: a feeling of being incomplete, a feeling of missing the most important and vital part of yourself.

The feeling of missing your mate.

It seemed to make so much sense, much more than anything else he’d ever thought in his entire life. Though his heart still yearned for Seungkwan, the realization gave him a sense of completion. 

Hansol transformed into his bipedal form and stretched back on the grass, looking up at the sky and cloud gazing absentmindedly. His entire being screamed at him to run away, run back to the pack and see Seungkwan and give his mate the biggest hug he’d ever had the pleasure of giving him, but his mind knew that it wasn’t possible, and it would never be possible again.

He heard some rustling several meters away, and he sprung forward into position and transformed just in case. His body tensed and he sniffed the air, but the smell was familiar, so familiar he could name it. Hansol rushed forward and tackled the white wolf, rolling in the grass and pinning him to the grass. They detransformed simultaneously, and Hansol smiled down at Soonyoung. 

“What on earth are you doing here?”

Soonyoung beamed up at his friend, his hands gripping his forearms and leaning in closer. “Bringing you home.”

Hansol raised an eyebrow. “What do you-”

“He’s right.” Hansol looked to his side, seeing Jihoon sitting at the edge of the forest, freshly de-transformed and smiling softly at Hansol. “It’s time for you to come home.”

The journey back was as long as the journey there, and though the sadness of being apart from his mate didn’t let up, the hope grew in his chest the closer they got. During the journey, Soonyoung and Jihoon filled him in on everything he missed. The human Joshua attacked turned out to be Jun’s mate, and his name is Minghao. Hansol was surprised to learn Joshua exiled himself to the city without telling anyone and intended to die there. He heard from Soonyoung that there was a new wolf in the pack now, a traitor and a spy, but Jihoon told him what really happened, that Wonwoo was Mingyu’s mate. Hansol smiled and laughed to himself.

Was everyone getting their mates now?

Time - 5:29 P.M. 

It was raining the second day of their travel, and they were all dripping wet by the time they finally entered the territory. Soonyoung and Jihoon led him through the back entrance, keeping his return secret from the public in order for the council to save face. They told him Seungkwan had no idea they were sent to bring him back, and Hansol was both sad to deceive him and happy to surprise him. Jihoon called for Mingyu when they encroached on the council building to ask where Seungkwan was, and Mingyu joined them outside to let them in. 

Mingyu smiled at Hansol, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb. “He’s in the council room. Go get him.”

Hansol thanked them both and pushed ahead, water dripping off of him and wetting the packed dirt floor with every step he took. He didn’t want to alert Seungkwan of his presence by reaching out, but he could feel his mate’s sadness in his chest. 

Man, it was weird to think of Seungkwan as his mate.

But it did bring a smile to his face.

He approached the council room’s back door and pressed his ear against the wood door. He heard some sounds behind the door but couldn’t discern them, so he cracked the door and took a peek inside. 

Seungkwan sat at the council table, his head resting in his hands. Hansol saw Chan beside him, trying to make him smile but failing miserably. Seungcheol and Jeonghan sat towards the head of the table, their backs to him, and someone he didn’t recognize (he guessed it was Wonwoo) sat across from Seungkwan with Seokmin by his side. The only person saying anything was Chan, and everyone else was silent. He saw Jihoon, Soonyoung, and Mingyu walk through the main council door, sitting in their respective seats. He chuckled at the look Soonyoung gave Wonwoo, and at Jihoon’s reprimanding. Really, nothing had changed, but the brightest star in the room had fresh tears running down his face, and his heart ached to run to him. 

He watched Seungcheol turn to Jihoon, “Did your mission go successfully?”

Soonyoung and JIhoon nodded, Jihoon subtly gesturing to the back door with his head. “All ready.”

Hansol saw Seungkwan look up, the sadness on his face overpowering the slight curiosity that was visible. Jeonghan and Seungcheol nodded, and Jeonghan stood, his hand reaching behind his back and waving Hansol over. “Good, we’ve been needing some livelying up round here.”

Hansol opened the door completely and stepped out into the room. The council members looked at him with big smiles, but Seungkwan stared at him, happiness and confusion mixing on his face, as well as tears trailing down his cheeks and sobs escaping his throat. 

Hansol smiled sadly at him, holding his own tears back, and silently opened his arms. 

To say he was tackled would be an understatement. Seungkwan immediately charged him, barrelling into Hansol’s chest and sobbing loudly into his chest. Hansol held him as he cried. The other council members cheered loudly at the scene, and he even saw a couple of mates shed a tear, but he was distracted by burying his nose into Seungkwan’s blond hair that he missed so much. 

Minutes passed of Seungkwan’s sobbing before he finally spoke, his stuttering, tired voice muffled in Hansol’s chest, “How- How could you be back?”

He shushed him quietly, running his fingers through Seungkwan’s hair. “Doesn’t matter, I’m here now, just cry.”

Seungkwan whimpered as he buried his face in the taller’s chest, tears never ceasing. “Vernonie~”

“Vernonie?”

“I haven’t heard that before.”

“Is that an inside joke?”

Hansol ignored the onlookers' comments, choosing instead to walk past them whilst still holding Seungkwan in his arms and practically carrying the blond wolf all the way to their room. The stench of sadness was overbearingly strong, but it would be gone by the time they woke up tomorrow. The bed didn’t look like it’d been slept in, though the sheets were slightly wrinkled, but the thought of Seungkwan being too sad to even take care of himself was more than heartbreaking. Silently, Hansol guided Seungkwan to sit on the edge of the bed, the blond wolf clinging to his midsection and his face buried in his stomach. It was almost as if he was afraid Hansol wasn’t real, or if he let go, he’d disappear again. 

He ran his fingers through Seungkwan’s hair and waited for his tears to slow, his voice filled to the brim with love as he spoke against the top of his head, “I’m not gonna leave you again.”

“You’d better not, or I’ll kill you.” There was no bite in Seungkwan’s words, and his grip around his waist tightened, “Do you have any idea how hard it’s been? I was so lost without you…”

Hansol made the decision to keep quiet, unsure of what more he could say or how to bring up the elephant in the room. It wasn’t something he could avoid forever, though, and he typically hated to run from things.

“You know why it hurts so bad, don’t you?”

Seungkwan’s hands tightened their grip on his shirt, but when he looked up, his eyes held only confusion. “Why?”

“Because,” Hansol ruffled Seungkwan’s hair lovingly, the right corner of his lip quirking up, “we’re mates.”

Maybe other wolves would have been hurt by the look of sheer shock on their mate’s face, but Seungkwan’s wide eyes and agape mouth only made Hansol burst into laughter, his body slightly shaking as he laughed. 

“You can’t say something like that and not elaborate!” Those arms around his waist fell, and he felt a hand hit his side as he let his body collapse on the bed. “And get off the bed before you’re dry, you’re going to mold the sheets!”

Hansol wrapped his arms around himself, stomach aching from laughing so hard. He could imagine Seungkwan’s pout on his lips, could practically see it behind his closed eyelids, but before he could check and see, he felt a weight settle on his midsection. He opened an eye, his smile wide on his lips, and laid his eyes upon Seungkwan.

The blond was straddling his hips, frowning seriously down at him. Despite the worried expression, his eyes were bright, “What are you talking about?”

“Kwannie,” Hansol chuckled and lifted his hands to cradle Seungkwan’s cheeks, an action they had commonly done before that now sent sparks off in both of their stomachs, “normal ‘best friends’ don’t get sad when they aren’t together to the point they feel incomplete.”

The confusion on Seungkwan’s face was so endearing, Hansol could only wrap his arms around his waist as he sat up, looking at Seungkwan with a smile on his face, “It’s happened before, y’know: betas imprinting and becoming mates without their knowledge. If you’d like, we can break it, if you want someone else as your mate. It’d only hurt for a few months-”

“That’s not what I want!” Seungkwan looked surprised by his own outburst, but his expression quickly shifted into one of determination. “Don’t talk so lightly about breaking mating bonds.”

“But Kwannie, I’m not going to trap you if you don’t want me as your mate-”

“When did I say that, huh?” 

Hansol blinked in surprise at his friend, now with blush staining his puffy cheeks. The words processed in his head, and when he finally understood their true meaning, his cheeks grew bright red as well. Silence filled the space between them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Rather, it was awkward because neither of them knew how to proceed in this increasingly vulnerable situation. 

Why isn’t he saying anything?

Did he understand me?

What am I supposed to do now?

What do I say?

Do I kiss him?

Will he kiss me, or do I have to kiss him?

I don’t know what to say…

Maybe I should speak first?

“Vernonie-”

Seungkwan was cut off by the press of lips against his own, and his eyes widened, frozen like a statue. It was so fast, too fast for Seungkwan to react. His mind raced, and it finally clicked that Hansol, his best friend of many, many years and newly discovered mate, was kissing him. For a few seconds, they stayed like that, and before Seungkwan knew it, it was over; Hansol was pulling away and leaning back against the mattress. With red cheeks and a trembling voice, Seungkwan stared down at Hansol beneath him, “What was-?”

“You’re my mate, I think that means we have to kiss, right?”

Out of his own shyness, Seungkwan whined before playfully shoving Hansol’s shoulder away, his mate laughing loudly as he did. “You can’t just steal kisses like that! You have to warn me!”

Hansol’s smile made butterflies, no, jet planes, erupt in his stomach. “I can try it again, would that be better?”

Since when was he so good at making me flustered, Seungkwan thought to himself as he stared in bewilderment at his mate. In an effort to hide his feelings (a pointless effort, really, considering the blush on his face), Seungkwan cleared his throat and hid his face in the crook of Hansol’s neck, his arms instinctively wrapping around his mate’s waist. As Seugkwan settled, Hansol, too, decidedly held him close. The lingering sadness of their separation was finally fading in their embrace, slowly getting replaced by that familiar feeling of wholeness they now better understood. 

It was strange: so much had changed, and yet their love had not.


	7. Chapter 7

Months Later...

In the concrete forest surrounding him, Joshua walked the streets lethargically, the usual pep in his step gone as the moon was in its waning phase. His hair was fluffy from sleep, or lack thereof, and he raked his fingers through it in an attempt to smooth it down as he walked down the street towards the cafe. He tried his best to sidestep around people and avoid bumping their shoulders on the bustling sidewalk, knowing the anger that would bubble inside of him if a human touched him at the moment. 

Ducking into the small java cafe, he made his way to the booth at the back corner where he saw Jeonghan and Seungcheol sitting, waiting for him. Jeonghan met Joshua’s eyes as he approached, snickering softly. “You look like you got hit by a truck.”

Joshua rolled his eyes as he sat in the corner, back to the wall to avoid any unwanted human interaction, elbows resting on the table as he glared at his Hyung. “Shove it. You know I can’t recover after the moon like you guys.”

Smiling, Jeonghan slid a mug across the table to Joshua, the brown coffee shining up at Joshua’s face as a sort of beacon of hope. He flashed Jeonghan an apologetic smile before quickly downing the mug, the barista collecting it and bringing a second coffee a few minutes later. “Thanks, Hyung.”

Jeonghan shook his head, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms across his chest. “You’re always cranky after the moon, I wouldn’t be your friend if I didn’t know your coffee is the only thing that keeps you from going feral.”

Seungcheol shot Jeonghan a look, and the later pursed his lips together in a pouty silence, hands slowly twirling his coffee mug on the table. Seungcheol looked at Joshua, his arm slung over the back of his chair where his body was turned towards Joshua’s. “Shua, why don’t you come back to the pack? You know what this environment does to people like us. It’s really better for you if you just-“

“I’m not going back, Cheol.” The mug made a soft clink against the table as Joshua put it down, looking at Seungcheol out of the corner of his eye. “I don’t care if I die in this city, I’m never going back.”

Seungcheol sighed, tapping the table a few times and nodding slowly. “I guess I can’t drag someone back if they don’t want to be there.” His eyes flicked up to Joshua’s, but he was already refocusing on his mug in his hands. “But you know.. the cat inside of you needs nature. You really will die in this city if you don’t come back.”

Joshua nodded slowly, taking another sip of his coffee and placing it on the table again. “I know, Cheol. I know. But I’m not going back. And I’m prepared to deal with the consequences.” He sighed softly before looking up at Cheol, a small smile on his face. “Now, can you please stop talking about it? If that’s all you came here for, you can leave now.” 

Seuncheol nodded and stood, realizing he wasn’t wanted there anymore, and made his way out of their corner table. Jeonghan looked after him for a second or two before meeting Joshua’s eyes, his hands tentatively grabbing his and holding it. “Shua, you can’t die yet, okay? You have to be Gi-Tae’s cool uncle who we come visit every new moon, remember?” Jeonghan smiled sadly, his eyes clouding in his emotions and fond memories. “He misses you so much, Shua, so you have to stay alive. If you don’t, I’ll kill you myself.”

Joshua smiled softly, patting Jeonghan’s hand and chuckling under his breath. “I won’t die, it’ll take a lot more to keep me away from Gi-Tae. You tell him that.” 

Jeonghan nodded, wiping his eyes though no tears had fallen. “I will, he’ll be glad to hear from you.” 

He looked over his shoulder to Seungcheol who stood behind him, waiting for Jeonghan to finish. He stood and, waving to Joshua as he walked away, followed Seungcheol out of the cafe. Joshua didn’t watch them leave, he knew where they were going and how they were getting there. Go to the city limits and enter the forest next to the large oak, after a mile walk reach the waterfall, shift, and walk through the small opening behind. When you exited out the other side, you would see a wide open space. There lay the territory where Joshua had grown up, and abandoned. 

The monster inside of him yearned to follow the pack leaders, but he bit back his instinctual desires, his fist tightening as he struggled to control the urges. As with every time Seungcheol visited, the irrepressible urge to go back was growing inside his heart again, but he’d find a way to suppress it. His eyes wandered to the door of the cafe, the door that hasn’t opened since Jeonghan crossed its threshold, his inner feline running after him but stopped by Joshua’s body. He’d go back to normal. Somehow. 

But.. maybe a look wouldn’t hurt? 

He shook his head, slapping his cheek a few times and taking another sip of his coffee. “Snap out of it, snap out of it..” Joshua had to remind himself again and again, over and over. There was a reason he left. He nodded, his fingers gently tracing the handle of his coffee mug and his eyes absentmindedly wandering across the table. Yes, there was a reason. 

He finished his coffee soon after they left, leaving his empty cup at the table unattended as he left the cafe and turned in the direction he came, trusting his feet to take him home, his mind wandering as he walked along the still bustling sidewalk. He looked up at the sky, the sun peeking out behind fluffy white clouds and shining streaks of light onto the earth below. He blinked a few times before his eyes adjusted, focusing with inhuman precision to see in the bright condition. Within him, the cat itched and kicked to be released, but Joshua dug his nails into his palms and kept walking. 

See, just being outside wasn’t enough to satisfy him. Sure, Joshua walked around outside all day, every day, but that wasn’t enough for it. They needed trees and grass, rivers and water, rocks, dirt, needed to run, to hunt, to fight, to mate; it needed to do everything primal that was in its nature. And that’s why Joshua did not transform, not inside the city at least. Every night, he denied himself the need, and it took its toll on him every time. Controlling a person’s true state was something very dangerous for his kind, and he knew that. 

But what could he do? It had been months since he’d attacked the human, months since he’d left his family, months since Seungcheol had begun visiting to invite him back, and the urge to transform, the desperate need to be free, had only grown. He couldn’t allow himself to, not with the image of that night flashing before his eyes every few seconds. The screams of pain too familiarly cried in his ears, the stench of blood so similar to his own and yet so different. That human could have died because of him, and as someone who was raised to be a healer, to help people live, it devastated him. More than anything, he was scared, no, terrified he would do it again. That time before, he couldn’t control himself enough to get off the human, Hansol and Sueungkwan had to do it. 

If he transformed again, who else would have to get hurt?

Looking up to see how his progress was, he found himself looking at the edge of the forest. It wasn’t the same trail that led to the territory, but it was the forest, and the wildcat inside begged to be released. He looked over his shoulder, but the border into the city was far behind him. Slowly, he turned back to the tall trees in front of him, and he knew that he’d been led here. He could feel every muscle, every bone in his body breaking and trying and yearning to be free, to transform, to run, to scratch the trees. There was a pain in his hand and he looked down. His fist with clenched so tight, his nails digging into his palm so deeply, that there were several small cuts from his sharpening nails. 

Though it was warm, a chill ran up his spine, and he quickly hugged his arms close to his chest, hands running quickly up and down his arms to warm the gooseflesh that rose up. He closed his eyes and breathed through his mouth, trying to calm his heart rate back to normal. He couldn’t transform like this, not like this, out in the open where any passerby could see. And he certainly wasn’t going into the forest. 

Minutes passed, but his heartbeat barely slowed. With the trees looming over him, he could feel himself losing the fight. Joshua knew he needed to get away, but his feet were glued in place; he couldn’t run. His knees buckled beneath him and he kneeled on the ground, head bowed as he struggled to keep control of the monster inside. If any passerby were to see him, they’d think he was peacefully praying, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

He felt a presence approach him, and his eyes darted up in fear, his eyes growing yellower in color, pupils dilating, but all he saw was a familiar pair of green eyes peering through the forest edge, accompanied by a brown nose and pointed ears. Not only did the cat yearn to be closer to its kind, but Joshua also felt an intense impulse to hug his old friend. Slowly, he forced himself to crawl to the edge of the woods, the sound of his friend’s breathing and occasional whimpering urging him forward. Eventually, he felt his hands brush the dirt at the edge of the forest, and he collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily from his self constraint. 

The blond wolf leaned down and brushed his nose against his cheek, whimpering again in worry. Joshua felt the wolf lay down in the bushes, careful not to expose itself to any prying eyes, but his nose and head was resting next to his own, and he felt calm with his presence, even if the feline inside still fought for freedom. 

After a few minutes' rest, Joshua placed his hand on the wolf’s muzzle, the size jarring him for a second before he remembered just how big his past pack members were. Slowly, he stroked his hand on the snout and used him as an anchor for his consciousness. 

“Thank you, Jeonghan”

Jeonghan twisted his head slightly, as if to scoff at him. “You acted so tough just a few hours ago, and now look at you. You’re really sick.”

Joshua chuckled, albeit weakly. “Please don’t chastise me when I’m dying like this.”

The wolf nipped at his hand, sharp teeth leaving faint streaks on the skin, but licking the wounds after. “You’re not gonna die, Shua, you promised. Don’t be so stubborn and just transform.”

“Hyung it’s not that easy-“

“Bullshit.”

Joshua opened his eyes and looked into the pained green eyes of his oldest friend, staring at him with an intensity only a wolf could express. "If you don’t let go of your pride right now, you’re going to die. Do not be so stupid to lose everything you have here with us.”

Joshua bit his lip, looking away for a few seconds, the pain in his chest swelling bigger as his feline became harder to control. 

“Hyung.. you know I can’t control him right... you know what happened last time...”

Looking at the canine’s expressionless face, Joshua could see Jeonghan’s true feelings buried behind all the fur. He looked so sad, so terribly heartbroken. The blond wolf dared to sneak further out of the bushes and lay its head next to Joshua’s, comforting him. “Running away isn’t going to help you never do it again. It will only hurt you. You are smart enough to know that.”

Joshua sighed softly at the truth in the statement. It was true, he did know. But he was just so scared... 

Though, maybe he did fear dying just a little more. 

It wasn’t until several seconds later that Joshua nodded, slowly losing his grip and letting himself be free; his body changed and shifted from the human form he’d been stuck in for so long, back into his true state: the sandy brown cat he was always meant to be. Joshua stood up and trotted into the forest, dragging his discarded clothes into the tree line and away from possible onlookers. Jeonghan followed and met eyes. An essential silent conversation took place. Before long, it seemed as if it had ended. Jeonghan stepped in front of Joshua, beginning the process of leading their lost pup back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so that's the final chapter of the main storyline, but I have their entire offspring planned plus some essential character development that needs to occur sooooo...
> 
> If you have anything you want to see in the future, let me know and I may use it.


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